The Cruise
by Satokasu Suki
Summary: *FINISHED* Thanks to everyone who nominated me, and this story! Summary: Helga wins 4 tickets to the Sunset Cruise. Who will she take?
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold! and associated characters. 

Note: This is my first Hey Arnold fic, and yeah, I know the plot's probably been done a zillion times, but I thought like writing my version of it, like it or not! ^.~ 

**The Cruise**

"And the winner is…" all the kids of P.S. 118 were all seated in the gymnasium, waiting to see who would win the latest unknown prize. 

"_Helga Pataki_!" Mr. Simmons called from the stage. The kids erupted in applause. 

"Come on down, Helga, and get your prize!" 

Although Helga was somewhat surprised, she made her way to the stage. 

"Congratulations, Helga!" Phoebe smiled. 

"Yeah yeah," Helga got up from her seat. 

"Probably something cheap and useless…" she mumbled to herself, while reaching the stage. 

"Congratulations, Helga! Here's your prize! Four tickets to board the special Sunset Cruise, for a week, for free! This includes meals you have on the cruise, and the whole cruise itself!" Mr. Simmons grinned, proudly handing the tickets to Helga. 

"Your poetry was worth, it, huh?" Mr. Simmons whispered, nudging Helga. "_Ms. Anonymous_?" 

"Yeah, yeah, I guess so," Helga snapped, grabbing her four tickets. 

"This is just what I need," Helga mumbled sarcastically, walking back to her seat. "Wait a minute!" she realized. "This _is_ just what I need! This is how I can confess my undeniable feelings for Arnold! Ha! This is _perfect_! But how do I invite him, without actually inviting him?" she asked herself, sitting down. 

"Here, Pheebs," Helga said, giving Phoebe one of her tickets. 

"Thank you, Helga!" Phoebe said politely, trying to hide the fact that she was so surprised. 

"No problem," Helga shook it off like it was nothing. 

"Hey, Helga," Gerald addressed her. Gerald and Arnold were sitting behind Helga and Phoebe. 

"What do you want, Geraldo?" Helga snapped, turning around to face him. 

"You still have two tickets left," he stated the obvious. 

"Yeah, so? What's it to you?" Helga raised her brow. 

"Who else are you going to invite?" Arnold finished innocently. 

"Hmm, that's a good question, football-head! I haven't given it much thought…" she lied. 

"Well, we could go!" Arnold put on his best smile, trying to convince her to let Gerald and him go. 

"Hmm, lemmie think," Helga said sarcastically. 

Gerald and Arnold exchanged glances, and lifted their hands to high-five, when - 

"NO WAY!" she yelled in their faces. Gerald and Arnold sadly put their arms down. 

"Well who else are you going to invite? Harold? Lila? Stinky…" Gerald began to list names of his classmates. 

"Listen, bucko," Helga cut him off. "I'll invite whoever I want!" she yelled in Gerald's face. 

Gerald and Arnold frowned. "Fine Helga, fair enough," Arnold said reasonably, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"Fine," Gerald said, not getting ready to give up anytime soon. 

Later, at recess… 

"Hello Helga," Gerald approached Helga as she sat on the bench and talked with Phoebe. "Phoebe," he added. 

"Hi Gerald," Phoebe greeted. 

"Tall hair boy," Helga grumbled. 

"What's up?" he tried to be innocent. 

"Listen, geekbait, you're not gettin' those tickets anytime soon!" Helga said, pointing an accusing finger at Gerald, as she yelled. 

"Oh, is that so?" Gerald asked coolly. 

"You better believe it!" Helga yelled. 

"We'll just have to see about that," he said walking away and discussing something with Arnold. 

Later, after school… 

Helga picked up her books and was walking down the hall when Arnold approached her. 

"Hey Helga," he said, walking with her down the hall. 

"What do you want, Arnoldo?" she demanded. '_This is just what I need_,' she thought sarcastically. 

"Nothing, just thought I'd talk to you, that's all," Arnold said. 

Helga looked at him sceptically. 

"Listen," he stopped walking and she stopped beside him. "Gerald and I would really like to go on that cruise, but if you don't want to invite us, be sure to have a fun time for us, okay?" Arnold said walking off. 

Helga frowned as she watched him walk down the hall. He had gone and done it again. He had made her do the right thing. She sighed in defeat. "Wait up, football-head!" she called. 

Arnold turned around. "Yeah, Helga?" he asked doubtfully. 

"I…the cruise…" she began nervously, not making eye contact and rubbing her arm. "You guys can come with us," she finally said, looking up. 

"Really?" Arnold asked, surprised but ecstatic. 

"Yeah," she gave in, handing him the two extra tickets. 

"Thanks Helga!" he said, hugging her. 

'_Ohh_' she sighed happily to herself, as she melted. She soon snapped out of it. "Yeah, well, you better get going quickly before I change my mind!" she yelled. 

"Okay," Arnold shot her a winning smile before running down the hall to tell Gerald. "Thanks again!" 

She watched him leave, and walked down the school stairs outside. When no one was looking, she ran into an alleyway and unleashed her locket, looking lovingly at her little photo of Arnold. 

"Oh Arnold, how I love you. I love how you have a sense of right and wrong, how you're constantly helping others, how you smile, how your little football-head head is so unique," she swooned, as she placed her locket back in her dress. "But most of all, I love how you're coming on a cruise with me! _Ohh_!" she said happily. 

A familiar wheezing sound came from behind her. Helga groaned and instinctively punched Brainy in the face. He fell over, and Helga walked away. 

** 

Helga opened her door to hear Big Bob's cheers of "Yeah, this is the best one yet!" Helga guessed that he was watching another one of his beeper commercials. She dropped her bag and walked up stairs. 

She flipped on her light switch in her room, and walked to her closet, pulling out a stepladder. She climbed the stepladder, and reached her Arnold shrine in the attic. (A/N: Yeah, she moved it – remember? See "Hey Arnold! The Movie"). 

"Oh Arnold!" she bowed down to her shrine. "I will make sure that this will be the best cruise ever!" she said, before taking a deep breath and exhaling. "I will try to be _nice_ to you." 

** 

"Hey short man!" Arnold's grandpa greeted Arnold as he walked through the front door. 

"Hi grandpa," Arnold said excitedly. 

"Where have you been all day?" Grandpa demanded with his hands on his hips. 

Arnold rolled his eyes. "_School_, grandpa," he replied. 

"Oh right, right!" Grandpa said as he chuckled, releasing his hands from his hips. "It's a school day!" he reminded himself. 

"Anyway, I need to call Gerald," Arnold practically sang. 

"Okay," Grandpa smiled. "Why are you so excited?" 

"Helga gave Gerald and me tickets to go on the Sunset Cruise with her and Phoebe!" Arnold exclaimed happily, reaching for the phone. He picked it up but Grandpa's hand pushed the phone back on the receiver. 

"Helga? Is that the mean little girl with the pink bow and the one eyebrow?" 

"Yeah…" 

"Well lucky you, short man!" he high-fived Arnold, taking his hand off the phone and walking away. 

Arnold picked up the phone and called Gerald. 

"Hello? Gerald? I have the best news in the world!" 

"Hey, what is it man?" 

"I got the tickets!" 

"Really? How'd you get 'em?" 

"I don't know, actually…" 

"Hehe, put on your charm?" 

"Ha, ha, very funny." 

"So you got them? Wow! That's great!" 

"Yeah, I'll give you your ticket tomorrow at school, okay?" 

"Okay man, sounds great." 

"Bye!" 

"Later!" 

Arnold hung up the phone. 

** 

Arnold pulled his bed covers over himself and snuggled down into the warm welcoming bed. He looked up at the darkening sky through his skylight, before his eyelids grew heavy. 

Dream Vision: On > 

Arnold looked around. He appeared to be on the Sunset Cruise. Everyone was dressed up fancily though. He looked down at himself, noticing he was wearing a tuxedo and a tie. He appeared to be in the dining room. He was sitting beside Helga, across from Gerald and diagonal from Phoebe. 

"Uh, what's going on?" Arnold asked Helga. 

"We're having diner, Arnold," she replied softly. Arnold was surprised she referred to him as 'Arnold' and refrained from using 'football-head', 'hair boy,' 'paste-for-brains,' or 'Arnoldo.' He smiled at her kindly. 

Helga put an arm around Arnold. Arnold was a bit taken back. "Uh, Helga? What are you doing?" his smile faded. 

"Well now that we love each other, I thought putting my arm around you would be a nice gesture of love," she said, scooting in closer to him. Arnold's eyes widened. 

"Wha – love?" was all he managed to spit out. 

Helga chuckled heartily. "Yeah, Arnold!" she said before leaning in. "Now come here, ya big lug, I'll show you another gesture of love," she moved in to kiss him, as Arnold's eyes widened even more and he tried to move away but Helga caught him off guard, right on the lips. 

Dream Vision: Off > 

"Ahh!" Arnold woke with a start. What a strange dream! What was it all supposed to mean? Maybe it was some sort of sign for the Sunset Cruise, approaching? He shuddered at the thought. Hopefully not…it seemed a lot like the time she had confessed on the top of the FTI building, and kissed him. But that had been the heat of the moment…right? Part of his mind told him she meant every word, but the other half screamed 'no way!' He sighed, before clearing his thoughts and drifting off. 

Hey, whadja think? Don't forget to R+R! A/H in later chapters. ^_^ 

~ Satokasu Suki 


	2. Chapter Two

The disclaimer can be found on chapter one. 

The Cruise: Chapter Two

"Arnold," Helga muttered before falling to sleep. 

Dream Vision: On> 

Helga stood alone, at the front of the ship. She felt the wind blowing gently at her face, as it stroked her hair. She slowly put her arms out and stood at the front of the ship, as if she was flying. 

Suddenly she felt some hands on her arms, which sent a thrilling tingling sensation throughout her. She turned around. Arnold stood there, smiling warmly. Helga grinned, feeling her face grow a bit warm. She turned to face out to the water again. 

"I can fly!" she said happily. She flapped her arms up and down in a flying motion. "I can fly!" she repeated enthusiastically. Arnold smiled at her warmly, and she turned around just in time for them to both come face to face. Arnold looked into her sparkling blue eyes, and leaned forward. She didn't object, as she leaned forward. They both pulled into a kiss. 

Dream Vision: Off> 

"I can fly," Helga sighed happily as she continued to dream. 

** 

"Wow man, thanks," Gerald said the next day on the bus, as he accepted his ticket from Arnold. "This is gonna be great!" 

"Yeah, I know!" Arnold smiled. He turned around to face Helga. She was sitting with Phoebe, behind Arnold and Gerald. "Thanks so much, Helga!" 

"Well… I-I," Helga began to stutter as she twisted her hands together shyly. "I-I mean…" she snapped out of it. "You better not get used to me being nice! That was a one time only kinda thing!" she insisted. 

Arnold smiled and then turned around to face the front of the bus. "Whatever you say, Helga, whatever you say." 

"Yeah that's right football-head! Whatever **_I_** say!" Helga countered, crossing her arms over her chest. Phoebe raised an eyebrow at her, but she decided to ignore it. 

The rest of the day proceeded as normal… 

"And now I'll be coming around to collect your poems," Mr. Simmons announced. Helga scribbled one last line, before turning her paper in. Mr. Simmons scanned it through, "Good work, Helga! In fact, I'm going to read this one to the class," he said before collecting a few more. 

"Class, I want you to direct your attention to a poem I'm about to read. It's signed…" he scanned the page and smirked. "Anonymous," he said before beginning. Helga slouched down in her seat, nervously. 

"_He's on my mind,_

_Morning, noon and night._

_I wonder if I should tell him,_

_Would everything be all right?_   
  


_I know I love him,_

_I love him, I said!_

_I'm over the moon, head over heels,_

_For a sweet little football_--" 

**_Ring!_**

Helga let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Her secret had almost been revealed! But the bell had rang just in time. 

"Heh, time for lunch!" she said nervously, running to the Cafeteria with Phoebe and the rest of the kids. 

Mr. Simmons sighed. "I guess we'll have to finish this later," he mumbled, putting the poem in his desk drawer. 

Meanwhile, Helga shoved passed a number of people to get her lunch tray filled. The cafeteria lady slopped some brown gushy stuff all over her tray. "Gee, thanks, you're too kind," Helga mumbled to herself sarcastically, eyeing the unknown food. Arnold came up beside her. 

"Hey Helga," he said. "That was some poem, huh? I wonder who wrote it?" 

Helga resisted the urge to tell him, although her mind was screaming 'I did! It was me!' "Hah," she said aloud. "Yeah, that was some pretty deep stuff! Sounded like the author had a little _crush_ on somebody," she said and then immediately regretted saying that. 

"Yeah," Arnold agreed. "I wonder who?" he asked innocently, grabbing a green pudding. 

"Well don't look at me! How am I supposed to know?" Helga snapped as the cafeteria lady slopped some brown stuff all over Arnold's tray. Arnold cringed at it, and stared at it for a while. 

"Why don't you take a picture, Arnoldo? It'll last longer," she commented sarcastically, grabbing a green pudding and placing it on the side of the brown mess on her tray. 

"You know Helga, I know you're not as bad as you seem. You probably have a nice normal, kind, giving personality, but for some reason, you don't want to show it," Arnold expressed. "You didn't give Gerald and I those tickets because you felt like it." 

Helga nervously thought of some sort of comeback. "You must be crazy, football-head!" she said, marching off towards a table. 

"Whatever you say, Helga," Arnold mumbled, leaving to go to a table, too. 

A few days later… 

Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe and Helga all stood in front of the Sunset Cruise with suitcases. 

"Well, I guess this is it," Arnold said, looking up at the ship. 

"Yeah, I guess so," Gerald added. 

All four kids walked up the ship and boarded. A man stood at the front of the ship, and they all approached him. 

"Hi," Arnold started. "Do you have-" 

"Hey bucko, d'ya have four spare rooms?" Helga interrupted, shoving the four tickets in the ticket master's face. 

"Um, actually," the ticket master started uneasily. "We only have _two_ available rooms…" 

Helga opened her mouth to protest, when Phoebe shyly stepped forward. "Well, I'll share a room with Gerald," she offered. 

Gerald smiled shyly. "Yeah," he said. Arnold glared at Gerald, knowing who he was going to get stuck with. 

"You will have room 8," the ticket master informed, giving them the key to their room. They walked down the hall, hand in hand. 

Helga looked at Arnold. "Well I guess I'm gonna be stuck with ol' football head, here," Helga said disapprovingly. 'I get to spend even more time with Arnold now!' her mind screamed in delight. 

"Yeah," Arnold replied. "That's what I was afraid of…" 

Helga frowned and snatched the room key out of the ticket master's hand. "Room _180_?" she questioned, raising half of her unibrow. 

The ticket master put a hand behind his head nervously. "Heh…that's the only other room available," he started. "I'm sure you'll both enjoy it though," he said with a wide smile. 

"Fine," Arnold answered, walking down the hall. Helga frowned. "This is going to be the worst cruise EVER," Helga commented coldly, wandering down the hall behind Arnold. 

** 

"Wow," Arnold breathed, eyeing the gorgeous room. Helga dropped her suitcase beside her, and walked to her bed. She sat down on it, and smiled, feeling as though she was in paradise. 

The room was the size of a normal house. It was huge, and had two floors to it. The bottom floor had two queen-sized beds, a night table with a lamp, a mini kitchen, a walk-in closet, and a marble bathroom. The second floor had a big screen television, two laptop computers, a telephone, a marble bathroom, a cupboard of cookies, ice cream, etc and a laundry room. 

"We sure lucked out," Arnold said to no one in particular, as he wandered to his bed. 

"Yeah, football-head, I might just survive through the week, now!" Helga commented teasingly. 

Arnold decided not to comment, and then got up off his bed, and walked up the stairs to the second floor. It was all so breathtaking, all so overwhelmingly beautiful! 

**Ring!**

Arnold picked up the phone, not knowing who to expect. "Hello?" he answered cautiously. 

"Hey man, it's me." 

"Oh hey Gerald," Arnold relaxed. "How'd you know our phone number?" 

"Your room number is in our phone book…we knew you were 180." 

"Oh. So, how's your room?" 

"Pretty nice. Two beds, mini kitchen, big screen TV," he explained. 

"Huh? No laundry room, second floor, walk-in closet?" Arnold asked. 

"What are you talking about, man?" 

"Uh," Arnold decided to keep his and Helga's room a secret. "Nothing." 

"Okay…so, how's sharing a room with Helga?" 

"Well we just walked in the door, so we haven't really done much of anything yet." 

"Ha! This is going to be some vacation for you! Sharing a room with Helga. Helga G. Pataki!" Gerald laughed on the other end. 

"Yeah, well, _I_ didn't get much of a say in the whole room decision, did I?" 

"Heh…sorry man," Gerald said guiltily. 

"It's okay." 

"Hey, why don't we come over and check your room out?" 

"Actually Gerald, I don't know if this is such a good time – " 

"Okay. Be over in five!" 

Arnold realized Gerald had hung up by the monotone sound that filled his ears. He clicked the phone back in its receiver. Oh well, Gerald and Phoebe were bound to find out about their suite room, sooner or later. 

He walked down the stairs, to find Helga watching TV. She was flipping through the channels lazily, when a knock came at the door. "Wha? Who could that be?" she said turning to Arnold. "Gerald and Phoebe," he replied as he walked to the door and opened it. 

Gerald and Phoebe gasped. "Wow man, this is one amazing room!" Helga perked up. 

"Yeah, isn't your room just like it, tall hair boy?" 

"Actually, it's nothing near this. Nice, but nothing like this," he said, walking into the room to get a better look. Phoebe followed. 

"Wow," Helga said in surprise, looking at Arnold. "We did luck out!" 

"Your room is so ravishing, and inspiring!" Phoebe said, smiling. 

"Uh, right Pheebs. _Ravishing_," Helga commented. 

Phoebe ignored Helga's comment. "It's vast, full of timely utensils, and is just so cordial!" she clasped her hands together in admiration. "Don't you think so, Gerald?" 

Gerald scratched his head. "Uh…" he turned to Arnold. "I think your room's really cool man!" 

"Yeah," Phoebe nodded. "Anyway, we're going to go back to the room now. See you guys later, at dinner." 

"Dinner?" Arnold questioned. 

"Yeah, you know, the last meal of the day," Helga said sarcastically, with her hands on her hips. 

"I know what dinner _is_," Arnold told her, with a raised eyebrow. "But when and where are we going to have dinner?" he asked Phoebe. 

"The Coffee Garden, of course," Phoebe said. "At 6:00 sharp." 

"Coffee Garden?" Arnold asked. 

"Did she stutter?" Helga said, standing up. "Yeah, the Coffee Garden. It's down the hall and to your left. You can't miss it!" 

"So see you guys there! Don't be late!" Phoebe said, closing the door behind her and Gerald. 

"6:00?" Arnold questioned, looking at his watch. "It's already 5:00!" 

"What?" Helga said, jumping a bit.   


Ha! Get ready for chapter three! I admit it, I like where this is going! Until next time, 

Lotsa Luv and Helga and Arnold forever, 

~ Satokasu Suki   



	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer is on Chapter one. ^_^ Nice try… ^.~ 

The Cruise: Chapter Three

Arnold and Helga looked at each other, before Helga ran to the first floor bathroom, and slammed the door in Arnold's face. Arnold groaned, and ran to the second floor to the other bathroom. 

** 

"It's already 6:10…they should be here already," Phoebe said with a worried expression. Gerald put an arm around her. "It's okay, I'm sure they'll be here soon," he said reassuringly. 

"Hello sir, madam," a waiter approached the two. 

"Uh, hi. We're just waiting for two friends to arrive," Gerald explained. 

"Why don't you wait at a table? Can I get your names?" 

"Uh, I'm Gerald," Gerald said, and then pointed to Phoebe, "and this is Phoebe." 

"Okay. Let me show you to your table," the waiter offered, leading the way. Gerald and Phoebe looked at each other, before following. 

Suddenly Helga and Arnold came racing into the restaurant. 

"Hey guys, sorry we're late," Arnold apologized, taking his seat across from Gerald. 

Gerald and Phoebe looked a little anxious. "That's okay, man. Why were you late, though?" Gerald asked. 

Helga plopped down beside Arnold. "Haven't you ever heard of being fashionably late? Sheesh!" 

It was just like Arnold's dream. Everyone was dressed up fancily; Gerald in a tuxedo and tie, Phoebe in a sparkling light blue dress, Helga in a pink dress with her hair put up, and Arnold in a tuxedo and tie. 

"Waiter!" Helga carelessly through her arms up in the air, and waved. It got the waiters attention. 

"Hello everyone. How may I serve you, this evening?" the waiter approached them. 

"Hey, could we have – " Helga began. 

"Just so you all know," the waiter began, "We're holding a buffet tonight. It's all you can eat!" he gestured towards two long tables full of delicious food. 

Phoebe clasped her hands. "Oh this is delightful!" Phoebe exclaimed happily. 

Arnold smiled. "Thanks," he told the waiter, before standing up and walking to the first buffet table. Helga followed close behind, grabbing a plate. 

** 

After the meal, Gerald, Phoebe, Arnold and Helga all walked to the elevators. 

"Well I must say that was a delightful meal," Phoebe said, rubbing her stomach in satisfaction. 

"Yeah!" Gerald nodded. "I haven't had that much of great food, in years!" 

The elevator dinged and they all walked in. 

"Yeah, it was pretty good," Helga admitted. The elevator dinged, and Phoebe and Gerald got out. 

"Well man, see you in the morning," Gerald said, as Arnold and himself did their usual secret hand shake thing. (More like thumb-twisting thing). 

"Bye Helga, Arnold! See you in the morning, for breakfast, at the Coffee Garden again. 10am! Don't be late," Phoebe announced, walking with Gerald off to their room. 

"Okay," Arnold called after them. 

The elevator door slowly closed. Helga and Arnold stood uncomfortably in silence. Arnold glanced at Helga. 

"What are you starin' at, paste-for-brains?" Helga scowled. 

Arnold frowned. "Why do you always have to be so mean, Helga?" he asked. He caught her off-guard. She opened her mouth to talk, when the elevator yanked to a halt. 

"Huh?" Arnold asked, looking up at the numbers of the floors. They were all flashing, and the lights in the elevator turned off. 

"Criminey! What the heck is going on?" Helga asked angrily. Arnold calmly picked up the emergency phone. "Hello?" No answer. "Hello!?" Nothing. 

"Oh great, I'm stuck in a broken elevator, with a football head!" Helga yelled, throwing her arms up to exaggerate her speech. She slumped down against the wall. 

"Well the phone isn't working," Arnold said calmly, stating the obvious. "I guess we'll be stuck here until help comes." 

"Perfect," Helga said sarcastically. "Just perfect," she grumbled. 

Arnold frowned at her nasty attitude. "Listen, Helga. If we're going to be stuck here in this elevator, we might as well be _somewhat_ nice to each other. I'm willing to call a truce, if you are," he extended a hand in the dark. 

"Well…" Helga was out of words. 'This is your chance to be nice to him!' her mind persuaded her. "Fine," she said angrily, not bothering to shake his hand, even though she could just barely see it through the thick darkness. 

Arnold sat down beside her, and sighed deeply. "We might be stuck here for a while," he stated the obvious. 

"Yeah," Helga agreed. 

"So," Arnold began, trying to make conversation. "What made you pick Gerald and I to come with you on the cruise?" he asked bravely. 

Helga's eyes widened. "Well…" she began. 'Quick Helga ol' girl! You can cover it up!' she thought. "Uh…be-because," she stuttered. "Because you guys just kept bugging me about it, I just gave in!" she lied. 

Arnold frowned and saw through her cover up. "Helga. Tell me the _truth_!" 

"We-well…I…I…" Helga began uncomfortably. 

**Ding!**

Helga sighed in relief. 

The elevator stopped on floor 3, where their room was. The lights snapped back on, and the elevator shuffled a bit, before opening its doors. Helga and Arnold walked out. 

They walked to their room. "I'm going to go talk to Gerald, okay?" Arnold told Helga, closing the door behind him. 

Helga sighed in relief, and fell back on her bed. "That was _too_ close!" she scolded herself. 

**Knock Knock Knock**

Arnold knocked on Gerald and Phoebe's room door. Nothing. He knocked again. Nothing. 'They must be doing something…' Arnold thought to himself. Arnold went to the gift shop to check if they were there, and there they were. 

"Hey guys!" Arnold smiled, walking up to them. 

"Hey man, where's Helga?" Gerald asked. 

"She's in the room. When we were in the elevator, things got weird…and I just decided to come see you," Arnold said quickly. 

"Yeah…she's one kid I'll never understand," Gerald nodded. 

"Oh hello Arnold," Phoebe walked around the corner of an isle of the gift shop. "What brings you here?" 

"Just visiting," Arnold answered. 

"Actually it's good we ran into you. Gerald and I were thinking of going to the theatre to see "The Young and the Romantic,"" Phoebe said, blushing and batting her eyelashes. 

"This cruise ship has a theatre?!" Arnold inquired in shock. 

"Yes!" Phoebe said with a smile, straightening her glasses. "We were thinking of attending the showing of _The Young and the Romantic_, at 3 this afternoon." 

"3?" Arnold asked, looking at his watch. "It's 2:45!" 

"Okay well go tell Helga, and we'll meet you on floor 4. You can't miss the theatre! The tickets have been pre-ordered, so you can walk right in. See you then!" Phoebe smiled. 

Arnold ran to the elevators, and raced to his room. He opened the door without hesitation. "Helga," he said, walking into the room. 

Helga continued to watch television, lazily. 

"Helga," Arnold repeated. Helga's eyes remained fixed on the television. 

"Helga!" Arnold repeated loudly, turning the television off, and walking in front of it. 

"Huh? What did you do that for?" Helga asked angrily. 

"We're going to the movies," Arnold said, grabbing her wrist. 

"Wha?" Before she knew it, they were out in the hall, running to the elevator. 

"Movies? I didn't know this cruise had a theatre!" she said. 

"Neither did I," Arnold said, almost out of breath. 

_The Odeon_ was right in front of them. They walked in, and took a seat beside Phoebe and Gerald. 

"What are we watching?" Helga asked in a whisper, to Arnold. 

"The Young and the Romantic," he answered. 

Helga groaned. "Great. Just great. 2 hours of kissing," she said sarcastically, adding heavy disgust into the word 'kissing.' 

"Shh!" Phoebe shushed them. "It's starting," she whispered. "Here," she handed them a bag of popcorn. 

"Thanks," Arnold smiled, turning his attention to the movie. 

The movie began with a young girl, around 9 or 10, stomping down the school hall. She had brown hair, tied into two pigtails. She wore a blue dress and a big blue bow. She also had a unibrow. "Get outta my way geekbait!" she shoved some kids out of the way. "What are _you_ lookin' at?" she asked carelessly, pushing a kid with glasses down. 

Helga's eyes widened. This girl acted strangely familiar. 

The girl stomped into her classroom, and took a seat, behind a kid with a head that was shaped like a banana. She spit a spitball at his head. "What, banana-brain?" she asked, putting on an innocent act. She then looked at the kid with the banana shaped head almost lovingly, before taking out a heart shaped locket when no one was looking, with his picture in it. 

Arnold, Phoebe and Gerald laughed at the girl. Helga choked on her popcorn, with wide eyes. The girl was exactly like her, and the banana shaped head kid, was like Arnold! It was all too similar. 

"You okay?" Arnold asked concerned, putting a hand on the choking Helga's shoulder. 

"Yeah banana- I mean football-head! I'm fine! Now get your hand off of me!" she snapped; stopping her choking fit. 

Arnold rolled his eyes, and turned back to the movie. 

The teacher in the movie, walked to the head of the class. He wore a nametag that read 'Mr. Simon.' 

"Hello class!" he said excitedly. "Today we are going to do something _special. _It's a _special_ assignment, for everyone to get to know each other in a _special_ way." The kids groaned. "I have already made the partners. Gerard and Fifi. Harry and Rhoda. Hilda and Arnie…" he continued, but the camera zoomed in on a swooning Hilda. 

"I'm paired up with my beloved, again! Is it fait? It must be!" she swooned happily, kissing her locket, and then stuffing it back down her dress, secretively. 

By now, all four kids were wide-eyed. The movie was exactly like their lives! Gerard was Gerald, Fifi was Phoebe, Hilda was Helga and Arnie was Arnold! Mr. Simon was their teacher, Mr. Simmons! Harry and Rhoda were Harold and Rhonda, their classmates! 

"Hey banana-brain!" Hilda called, in the movie. 

"What, Hilda?" Arnie asked impatiently. 

"Looks like we're partnered up _again_!" she replied, sarcastically, adding heavy sarcasm in 'again.' 

"Yeah," Arnie said with a big sigh, turning to Gerard who sat beside him. 

"Wow man, you really drew the short straw this time. You're stuck with Hilda! The school bully! Ha!" 

"I know, I know, but she's not as bad as she seems. I know she's really a kind, giving person." 

"Whatever you say man, whatever you say." 

"Class," Mr. Simon addressed the kids. "Please get into your pairs. It's a work period!" 

Arnie sighed as he walked over to Hilda. 

"So, Hilda," he began. Hilda raised half of her unibrow, and looked up at him from her desk. 

"Let's start with the basics," he finished, grabbing a chair and putting it by her desk. He took a seat. 

"What's your favourite colour?" 

"Why should I answer these?" 

"Because you have to." 

She sighed in defeat. "Blue." 

"Favourite saying?" 

"Bana- uh…" she caught herself. ""Get outta my way geekbait!"" she lied. 

Arnie cringed. "O…kay…" 

"Why don't _I_ ask _you_ some questions, now?" Hilda snapped. 

"Alright. Shoot," Arnie said calmly. 

"Favourite colour?" 

"Blue." 

"Favourite saying?" 

More questions were asked. While the movie proceeded, Helga glanced at Arnold. They all seemed to be enjoying the movie, despite the fact it was like their life biography. She smiled lovingly at him, and he felt her eyes on him. He turned to look at her, and she turned away innocently, watching the movie. Arnold sceptically looked at her, shaking his head and then turned back to the movie. 

Later in the movie, at Hilda's house… 

"Hey Hilda," Arnie said casually, at her front step. 

Hilda's heart skipped a beat. "Hey banana-brain," Hilda said teasingly. 

Arnie smiled at the name she had referred to him as. He was, for some reason, in an exceedingly good mood. 

Hilda noticed he had been standing outside, and was beginning to shiver. "Oh…uh…come in," she said. 

Arnie smiled, as she closed the door behind him. 

"While I'm here, let's call a temporary truce, okay?" 

Hilda looked a little surprised, but shook his hand in agreement. "Alright," she said with a small smile. 

He smiled back at her, and she felt all warm and fuzzy. His smile was full of, what was it? Was it _love?_

Helga's cheeks grew warm, as she uncomfortably slouched far down into the theatre seat. 

"So," Arnie said on the screen, slowly. 

"So," Hilda echoed uncomfortably. "Arnie…" Hilda began, taking a deep breath and then exhaling. "I have to tell you something." 

"Oh?" 

"I…I don't actually hate you. In-infact I love you. I've loved you ever since the first day I laid eyes on your stupid banana shaped head!" she yelled. "The love poems, the shrines, the teasing…I love you Arnie, and I've dreamed forever of the day I could hold you, and kiss you – and…" Hilda moved closer to Arnie. "Oh come here ya big lug," she said, catching him off-guard, full force on the lips. Arnie's eyes widened uncannily. 

Helga's eyes widened – it was just like when she had confessed to Arnold on the top of the FTI building! Her eyes soon softened as she looked over to Arnold who had a shy smile on his face, his eyes half open. She smiled at him secretly, and her mind swooned with different lovesick thoughts. He felt her stare on him again, and looked towards her. But she was now facing the screen, with a dazed, dreamy expression. He smiled to himself. Although she had her whole tough-girl act, she wasn't all that bad. This confession scene was a lot like the time she had confessed to him on top of the FTI building…and kissed him… Arnold felt his cheeks grow warm, as he relived the moment. He had never been kissed like that before. 

Helga noticed Arnold was watching her. He had a dreamy look on his face, and Helga was enjoying it. She looked over at him. 

"What are you lookin' at, Arnoldo?" she snapped. 

"Oh," Arnold said, snapping back to attention. "N-nothing," he shook his head, looking back at the theatre screen. 

Helga smiled to herself, and turned back to the screen. 

"Even though I haven't realized it until now…after your confession, Hilda," Arnie started. "I…I love you too!" Hilda and Arnie kissed passionately. 

Gerald and Phoebe shyly glanced at each other, and smiled, their hands found each other's, and they held hands in pure bliss, watching the rest of the movie. 

** 

Chapter four might take a while, sorry guys! I have writers block big time! x.X ...suggestions are more than welcome!! Please R+R! 

Lotsa Luv and Arnold and Helga forever, 

~ Satokasu Suki 


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer is on Chapter one. ^_^ Nice try… ^.~ 

The Cruise: Chapter Four

Arnie and Hilda continued to kiss passionately, and Helga broke out of her dazed expression. 

"Boo!" she yelled, throwing some popcorn at the screen. Arnold raised an eyebrow at her, and she cleared her throat. 

He turned back to the movie, eyes half open with a smirk. 

_Upside down,_

_Bouncin' off the ceiling,_

_Inside out,_

_Stranger to this feeling…_

_Got not clue,_

_What I should do,_

_I go crazy if I can't get next to you._

Music started in the background, and eventually singing came, as the credits began to roll with 'Bouncin' Off The Ceiling, (Upside Down)' by A-Teens, playing in the background. They showed some bloopers of the movie. 

They showed the scene where Hilda was confessing. "I love you! I loved you ever since…uh…when?" she looked at the camera, confused. 

They then showed the scene where she was spitting a spit ball at Arnie. It hit him in the back of his head. He turned around with a devilish grin, spitting a spit ball at Hilda. They both chorused in laughter. 

They showed the scene where Arnie and Hilda were moving in to kiss. They were about 3 millimetres away from each other, when they both started laughing. The credits continued rolling, now without the bloopers. 

Gerald, Phoebe, Arnold and Helga all rose from their seats and began walking towards the exit. 

"Some movie, huh?" Arnold asked no one in particular. 

"You're tellin' me! _Criminey_! It was practically our life biographies!" Helga snapped. 

"Yeah, the only difference was you and Arnold don't like each other, and you don't keep a locket of him!" Gerald laughed. "That would be so funny if you did!" he added, as Phoebe weakly smiled. 

"Me? Like football-head?" Helga started. "Ha! That's a laugh!" she crossed her arms over her chest, stubbornly. 

"Oh my beloved, _ohhh_," Gerald mimicked Hilda in the movie. They all laughed. Helga laughed nervously. 

"Ha! My favourite part was the bloopers at the end!" Gerald laughed. 

"I'd have to disagree. I quite enjoyed the confession scene," Phoebe said. 

"Yeah, me too," Arnold admitted. 

"Arnold, Arnold, Arnold," Gerald shook his head, putting an arm around his best friend sympathetically. "You're a true romantic, man." 

Arnold shyly smiled. "Yeah, I guess I am..." 

"What about you, Helga? What was your favourite part?" Phoebe asked innocently. They all turned to Helga. 

"My favourite part?" Helga echoed nervously. "T-the end because it was finally over! Sheesh. What a snoozefest!" 

"…Oh," Phoebe backed off. 

The four kids walked into the elevator. 

"So, we'll see you two at dinner," Gerald said. "The Coffee Garden – 6:30, okay?" 

"Yeah," Arnold nodded, as the elevator dinged, reminding Gerald and Phoebe to get off. 

"Bye!" Phoebe called to them both. 

"Cya, Pheebs," Helga waved. 

"Bye guys!" Arnold called after them, as the elevator doors closed. 

Arnold and Helga soon reached their room. 

Helga ran in, and flopped down on her bed. Arnold closed the door behind her, as he went to go sit on his bed. 

"Helga," Arnold started uncomfortably. 

"Yeah, Arnold?" Helga sat up quickly, to listen to what he had to say. 

"I-I've been thinking…about…the movie, a-and that time you confessed to me on top of the Future Tech Industries building, and – " 

"Arnold, what's your point?" Helga asked impatiently. 

"Well…" Arnold started slowly. "I know that inside of your bully exterior, you're really a nice person, and I think that I – " 

"Yes, Arnold?" Helga asked softly, waiting for what he was going to say. Was this it? Was he actually going to confess? Helga melted. Could Arnold, the good guy, fall in love with _Helga_, the school bully? 

"Well, I – " 

**Ding-dong**

The doorbell echoed through the room. 

Arnold sighed in frustration. "I'll get it," he said monotonously. Helga groaned. '_Stupid doorbell_,' she cursed. '_He was about to tell me something important! Argh_!' 

"Hey man," Gerald said, at the door, letting himself in. 

"Uh…hey Gerald…" Arnold blinked, closing the door behind him. "What brings you here?" 

"Yeah, what do you want now, _Geraldo_? It's not like you don't see football head enough…sheesh! Why don't you just _live_ in this room, with us?" Helga babbled on, sarcastically. 

"For your information," Gerald frowned at Helga and then turned to Arnold. "I need to talk to you man…" he noticed Helga's icy glare, "alone," he quickly added, lowering his voice. 

"Okay," Arnold agreed. "Helga-" he turned to Helga who let out a long exaggerated sigh. "Yeah, yeah, I'm goin' head boy, I'm goin'!" 

Arnold smiled lightly as she left the room. "So," he walked over to his bed. "What's so important?" Gerald took a seat beside him. 

"I-it's Phoebe," he said shortly. 

"Phoebe?" Arnold repeated, "is something wrong with her, or something?" he guessed. 

Gerald shook his hands in front of himself. "No, no…" he said quickly, he lowered his hands again, and started to fiddle with them. 

"I was just thinking…a-after the movie…and, during this whole trip…I've been feeling…well…" he started uncomfortably, "weird. Like sometimes I blush for no reason," he explained, eyeing the carpet. 

Arnold let out a soft chuckle. "Well Gerald," he put an arm around his best friend, and patted him on the back. "It looks like you _like her_, like her!" he smirked. 

Gerald's eye widened. "I…you…" he sputtered. "I got a thing for Phoebe?" he asked in disbelief. 

"Well," Arnold looked up at the ceiling longingly. "You said you blush for no reason…" he observed, and Gerald nodded. "Do you ever feel like it's your destiny to impress her?" 

Gerald nodded slowly. "Yeah…" he admitted, nodding more quickly. "Yeah!" he repeated more quickly, with a smile, looking at Arnold. 

"Do you ever feel like a feather, floating around on a cloud?" 

"Yeah!" Gerald chuckled. "Thanks man…I guess I do _like her_, like her!" 

Arnold smiled warmly. "I guess so," he said, going to get the door. He opened the door, and to his surprise, Helga fell on the ground. 

Arnold and Gerald exchanged weird glances, and Arnold extended a hand. She got up. 

"Heh…heh…hi boys…" she said sheepishly, looking down at the plastic cup, and then quickly putting it behind her back. 

"Wait a second…" Arnold started to realize. "Have you been here…listening this whole time…with the cup to the door?" he asked slowly, with his hands on his hips. Gerald went wide-eyed. 

"Well…" Helga looked at the ground. "Yeah!" she admitted with an evil grin, looking up. "And it seems like Geraldo has a _crush _on Pheebs!" she laughed. "Poor Pheebs…" she mumbled under her breath, shaking her head sympathetically. 

"Helga…you can't tell- " Arnold started. 

**Ring, Ring, Ring!**

"I'll get it," Helga ran to the phone, and picked it up. 

"Hello…. Pheebs? Yeah…your place…now?…Okay…criminey!" Helga hung up the phone, and yanked the door open. 

"I'll be at Pheebs'," she said, obviously irritated, slamming the door in Gerald and Arnold's faces. 

"Helga…she…wouldn't tell Phoebe, would she?" Gerald looked doubtfully at his best friend. Arnold put a hand on Gerald's back. 

There was a short pause. "Maybe Phoebe will like you back! Who knows?" Arnold asked, patting Gerald on the back. Gerald groaned; knowing Helga would blab his secret to her. 

**Knock, Knock!**

Helga knocked on Phoebe's door impatiently. "Who is it?" a small voice came from inside. 

"It's me," Helga said simply, and Phoebe opened the door. "Thanks for coming Helga," she shoved her in the room, and closed the door behind her. 

"Whoa…Pheebs…what's wrong? You're acting…" Helga couldn't find the word. "What's wrong?" she repeated. 

"It's…Gerald," she started, uncomfortably. 

"Okay, that was nice. Buh-bye now!" Helga walked to the door. 

"Helga!" Phoebe pleaded desperately. "Please…stay." 

Helga sighed and rolled her eyes. "Okay, shoot," she sat down on Phoebe's bed. 

"Okay," she said, calming down. "It's Gerald. He…he makes me feel so happy all the time! Sometimes I can't fall asleep at night, because I'm thinking about him! He's all I think about! Sometimes I blush for no reason, and I just feel so…carefree!" 

By this time, Helga was lying down on the bed, biting one of her nails. "Carefree? Mm hmm…" she said dully, not paying any attention. 

"So, what do you think I'm feeling?" Phoebe asked, taking a seat on the bed across from Helga (Gerald's). 

Helga looked up. "Listen, Pheebs, you're obviously in love with tall hair boy. I thought even a genius like you could figure that out! You got all the symptoms, and I think you should just confess," she said biting her nail off, and standing up to leave. 

"I _love_ him?" Phoebe coloured. 

Helga rolled her eyes. "Did I stutter?" she hissed, walking to the door. 

"Thanks Helga…I think I'll confess at dinner. But what if he doesn't feel the same way?" she said, opening the door, as Helga exited. 

"All I can say Pheebs, is you'll be _surprised_ at his reaction," she winked, walking down the hall. Phoebe watched her leave, and put her hands on her burning cheeks. 

"I'll confess…and everything will be perfect," she said confidently, closing the door to her room, and walking inside to think. 

Helga walked back to her room, with a smirk on her face. '_Ah, young love_,' she thought to herself blissfully. Her thoughts then trailed off to Arnold, as she opened the door to find him lying down on his bed and looking up at the ceiling. 

"Hey Arnold," Helga said, closing the door and walking to her bed to lay down. 

"Hey Helga. What did Phoebe want?" Arnold asked, not taking his eyes off the ceiling. 

"Same thing tall hair boy, wanted," she smiled, looking at the ceiling. 

Arnold looked over at Helga. "Phoebe likes him, too?" 

"Yep, and she's going to confess tonight at dinner," Helga kept her smile on her face, as she looked up at the ceiling. 

"Hmm," Arnold said simply. 

"Love's a funny thing, football-head," Helga started. 

"Ha," Arnold chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so." 

Helga looked over at him and smiled to herself. She sat up. 

"Anyway, dinner's in half and hour, and we better get ready," she said, standing up now. Arnold looked at her, and then stood up. 

"Okay," he said, watching her walk to the bathroom to change. 

"Hey Helga?" he caught her attention, and moved closer to her. 

"Yeah?" she turned to face him. They were inches away from each other. 

"Have _you_ ever loved anyone?" he asked, curiously. 

"Who, me?" Helga pointed to herself nervously, and tugged at her collar for air. "No way!" she forced a laugh. 

"Then how come you said you loved me, on top of the Future Tech Industries building?" Arnold asked bravely, taking a step closer. 

Helga winced, and squirmed under his glance, as she felt the doorknob to the bathroom behind her. She turned it ever so slightly. If it weren't such a nervous time for her, she would've been dying from the closeness. 

"Heat of the moment, remember?" Helga said nervously, forcing a bit of a laugh, before turning the doorknob fully and running in the bathroom. 

"Anyway, we better get ready for dinner or we'll be late! We can't disappoint Phoebe and Geraldo tonight!" she said, slamming the door in his face. 

Arnold snapped his fingers in defeat, and Helga slid down the other side of the bathroom door, in relief. Arnold wanted to uncover some of Helga's secrets. He wanted to get to know her better. He wanted to find out how she felt about him. 

'_Wait a minute…since when do I care what Helga G. Pataki thinks about me_?' he thought to himself, quizzically_. 'I can't be falling for her…can I? Helga the school bully…and me? Tha-that's crazy! But then before the whole Gerald and Phoebe thing...what was I going to say to her? Was I going to..._' Arnold's eyes widened. 

He shook his head clear from thought, and walked up to the second floor bathroom. 

** 

See? I toldja this chapter would be up by the twentieth! And it is! Sorry about the cliffhanger, but a story isn't a story without a cliffhanger. I know…I hate 'em too, but I had to do it. So until next time… 

Keep readin' 

Reviewin' 

And enjoyin'! 

~ Satokasu Suki 

P.S. I'm going to need at least 10 more reviews until the next chapter is uploaded onto the site. So keep reviewing, please! And thanks to everyone who has been so supportive along this roller coaster ride. Thanks for all the fantastic reviews guys – much appreciated! I love you all! *hugs everyone***** ^_^ 


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer can be found on Chapter One.

The Cruise: Chapter Five

Helga and Arnold ran to the Coffee Garden, dressed in their finest. Helga in a long pink dress with her hair in a messy bun ("Dinner For Four" anyone?), and Arnold wore a dark black tuxedo with a stunning red tie.

"Hello sir, madam," a french waitor approached the two. "Can I direct you to a table?" he asked, extending an arm for Helga to link.

"Uh," Helga looked behind her and there was still no sign of Gerald and Phoebe. 

"Actually we're waiting on two friends," Arnold explained. The waitor put his arm back to his side, freely, seeing Helga not taking it.

"Alright, but I will still have to ask you to follow me to a table," he said simply, walking ahead. Arnold and Helga followed.

"Here is your table," he extended an arm to point to the table. It was a special table with a bench on one side, and two chairs on the other. Helga and Arnold took a seat. They left the bench part for Gerald and Phoebe. 

The waitor handed them and the bench seats four menus. "Enjoy," he said dully, walking away.

Helga and Arnold picked up the menu in unison, and began scanning it.

"Hey guys," a soft voice came from in front of them.

Helga put her menu down. "Hey Pheebs," she smiled with a wink. Phoebe blushed slightly, and looked down at the carpet shyly. She knew very well, what Helga meant by the wink. "Hair boy," she sneered at Gerald. Gerald rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, Helga."

"Hey Gerald!" Arnold smiled, as Gerald and Phoebe took a seat on the bench.

"Hey man," Gerald smiled, picking up his menu.

"I think I'll have the – " Gerald started, putting his menu down and turning to Arnold.

"Gerald, there's something I've been meaning to tell you…and its really important…" Phoebe started. Gerald looked at her.

His heart skipped a beat. "Really? Okay…you can tell me…"

Phoebe shyly looked at the table and then looked up at Gerald. 

"Gerald…I…" she started. "I…I'm in…" Phoebe felt her cheeks grow warm as Gerald's heart began to beat faster, "love with you," she finished quietly, almost sounding ashamed. Gerald's eyes widened as he coloured.

"Phoebe…you…you are?" he asked, still stunned. Phoebe glanced at Helga who gave her a quick thumbs up. "Yeah," she said, with a bit of a smirk.

"Wow…I guess you should know that…" Gerald looked at Arnold and Arnold winked at him. Gerald smiled and looked confidently at Phoebe. "I, I love you too!"

"You do?" Phoebe said, tears brimming with tears as she hugged Gerald. Gerald returned the hug. "Yes, I do," he smiled warmly, enjoying the hug.

Arnold and Helga watched the new sweet couple with smiles.

"They're perfect for each other," Arnold smiled warmly at them hugging, a blush creeping on his cheeks. The scene was a lot like after Arnold had saved the neighbourhood, and Helga and himself were watching Murray the bus driver, and his girlfriend hug and kiss.

Helga nodded. "Yeah," she said with a warm smile, stealing a glance at Arnold. 

"Arnold," Helga said softly, nervously rubbing her arm.

"Yes, Helga?" Arnold turned to her as Phoebe and Gerald let go of each other.

"I…I have something to tell you…" she started nervously, not making eye contact.

"Okay Helga," Arnold said softly, his face brimming with kindness.

"Remember all of that crazy stuff I said at the top of the Future Tech Industries building?" this earned confused glances from Phoebe and Gerald.

"Yeah," Arnold nodded, blushing slightly at the remembrance of the kiss.

Helga looked up. "Well Arnold…I…"

"You…" Arnold prompted, moving his head closer to hers.

"Can I take your order?" the waitor interrupted, standing directly in between Helga and Arnold. Arnold's eyes went half-closed in frustration, and Helga growled, "Argh!"

Later…in the room…

Helga and Arnold lay down in their beds, in their pyjamas. It was around 10:30 and neither of them could get to sleep. 

Helga tossed and turned. "Argh!" she groaned. 

"You're still awake?" a voice came from the side of the room.

'_Arnold's still awake?'_ Helga thought. "Yeah. I can't get to sleep," she said in frustration, turning again. She looked up at the ceiling.

"Helga," he began. "Yeah?" she answered from the other side of the room.

"Today, at the Coffee Garden…what were you going to say?" he asked curiously.

"At the Coffee Garden?" she asked nervously. "Oh…nothing…nothing at all! Heh heh…" she kicked her blankets off; she was starting to sweat.

"Helga," he said firmly.

'_You can do this, Helga ol' girl! Just tell him a lie…make it up…quick_!' Helga's mind panicked.

"I was just going to tell you…that…that…" she thought quickly, and her mind scrambled a million different thoughts, "that I…sug…gest the steak!" she lied slowly.

Arnold's eyes half closed. "What does suggesting the steak, have to do with the top of the Future Tech Industries building?" he asked her curiously, cornering her.

"Future Tech Industries?" Helga echoed nervously. "I…I never said anything about that…"

"Yes you did," Arnold argued.

"No I didn't!" Helga retorted stubbornly.

"Yes you did, I'm sure of it!" Arnold said, equally as stubborn.

"No I didn't! I would know what I said, since _I_ said it, and _I_ didn't say that!" Helga was yelling now. "And why would you be paying so much attention to what _I_ was saying? It's not like you're going to read into it, or anything!"

"Okay, fine, lets just forget it," Arnold tried desperately to change subjects.

"So…"

"So…" Arnold echoed. A cricket chirping was heard.

"Phoebe and Geraldo make a pretty cute couple," Helga said shyly.

"Yeah," Arnold said with a chuckle. "It took them a while to admit it, but I think it was really worth it. Now they don't have to worry so much anymore, and they can live their lives together in happiness."

"Yeah I guess…" Helga started, raising a brow, "but its not like they're getting _married_ or anything!" 

"Who knows?" Arnold smiled over at her. "It could end up that way!"

Helga raised her brow again. "I doubt it," she said flatly. "That has as much as a possibility of you and I getting married," she said, trying to add a lot of sarcasm to hide her swoon, which was just waiting to be released.

"You and I?" Arnold seemed to think about it. "Who knows? We're only nine! People change. We could end up being married," he said thoughtfully.

Helga was relieved it was dark so she could hide her growing blush. _'He actually said we might end up being married! Oh what a joyful day that would be,_' Helga's mind swooned, as a dreamy look appeared on Helga's face. 

"I doubt it," she repeated, flatly, shaking the dreamy expression off. "Why would I marry a football-head, when there's a million other people to choose from?"

"I'm just saying it _could_ happen," Arnold tried to reason. "And what do you mean 'a million other people to choose from'? Do you secretly have someone in mind?" Arnold asked, eyes half open and an amused smirk danced on his face.

"Who me?" Helga asked nervously. "No…no way!" she forced a laugh. It was a lot like the scene earlier, when Arnold had asked her if she loved anyone. Almost a direct replay.

"Anyway Helga, I'm getting tired so I'll see you in the morning, okay?" Arnold said softly, turning on his side to fall asleep.

"Okay, 'night football-head," Helga said almost dreamily, but Arnold was too tired to notice. 

The next morning…

****

Knock- Knock- Knock!

Arnold reached for his watch, somewhere on the side table. He searched around for it, with his hand, sleepily. He grabbed it, and rubbed his eyes. "It's 7:30 in the morning," he said with a yawn. "What would someone be doing at our door, this early?" he stumbled to the door sleepily.

He yawned as he opened it. "Gerald? Phoebe?" he asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "What's up?" he said.

They stood at the door, hand in hand.

"We just came over to say thanks again for last night…you know, helping us confess," Gerald winked, "And breakfast is in an hour."

"Okay," Arnold said, fully awake now. "Come in," he offered. They walked in, and he closed the door behind them.

"I better wake up Helga," he said. Gerald and Phoebe went and sat on Arnold's unmade, messy bed.

"Helga," Arnold said softly. She had a soft, dreamy expression on her face. Arnold smiled warmly at it.

"Helga," he placed his hands on her shoulder and shook her gently. "Helga wake up…"

Meanwhile, in Helga's dream…

__

"Oh Arnold, I love you too!" Helga cried, running towards him. They embraced in a tight loving hug, before Arnold turned to her.

They kissed.

"Oh, Arnold!" she said lovingly.

"Helga," Arnold called in reality.

Reality greeted her coldly.

"_Oh Arno_-" her eyes snapped to attention, as she woke up. Arnold was hovering over her, and Gerald and Phoebe were across the room, looking at her. They were all looking at her sceptically.

"Are…no…" she fumbled nervously, "Are no…meals…delivered to the rooms? I'm starving, and its already _7:30_!" she snapped.

Gerald and Arnold exchanged glances of 'Oh brother,' and Phoebe just blinked, adjusting her glasses intelligently. "Actually Helga, you just woke up and you can't possibly be hungry – "

Helga interrupted her. "Phoebe, _Phoebe_! Let's not get bogged down with technicalities!" she insisted. "I know when I'm hungry," she hissed impatiently, standing up and pushing Phoebe to the door.

"Breakfast, anyone?" she said, continuing to push Phoebe and herself out the door.

"Yeah, sure, after you're dressed," Gerald said with a smug smirk. Helga squinted at him threateningly.

Arnold smirked shyly. "We'll get dressed, and meet you two down there," he suggested.

Gerald joined Phoebe at the door. "Okay, see you guys at the Coffee Garden in half an hour!" Gerald called, closing the door behind Phoebe and himself. 

**

Authors Note: Wow, thanks for the reviews, guys! I got ten more reviews in less than an hour! Obviously you're enjoying this! ^_^ Please keep reviewing, and suggestions as to what should happen next are _MORE_ than welcome! I have major writers block…yet again (it's a curse, I tell ya!) so I need some ideas for Chapter Six. Keep in mind everything that's happened, and I'm not a huge fan of Soap Opera type fics, so I'm not going to make this a drama. Any ideas you may have are more than welcome, though. I'll take all of them into consideration. ^_^

Keep readin',

  
Reviewin'

And enjoyin'!

~ Satokasu Suki

**** **** __ __ __


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer can be found on Chapter One, but I'll restate. I don't own Hey Arnold or associated characters. I am making no profit off of this story revolving around the characters I don't own; I am just doing it for fun, like everyone else. ^_^ 

The Cruise: Chapter Six

After a delicious buffet breakfast, Arnold, Helga, Gerald and Phoebe all sat down on a bench with ice cream cones. 

Arnold was on Helga's right, Phoebe was on her left, and Gerald was on Arnold's right. 

Helga licked her strawberry/chocolate cone. "So where are we going now?" she asked dully, taking another lick of ice cream. 

"I dunno," Gerald answered, equally as dull, licking his vanilla cone. 

"How about we go see a play?" Arnold suggested. 

"What _kind_ of play?" Helga asked in her usual sarcastic tone, finishing her ice cream. "No romances…" she added, clutching her stomach as if she was going to hurl. "I've had _quite_ enough of those," she said, remembering '_The Young and the Romantic_.' 

"Yeah," Gerald agreed. "Any kind of play, but _not_ a romance!" 

Phoebe frowned. "Oh, I was hoping we could see – " 

"No!" Helga, Gerald and Arnold said in unison. Phoebe shrunk back and frowned. "Okay…well there's always –" 

"_No_!" they all repeated in unison. Phoebe shyly smirked. "Okay…does anyone else have any ideas?" 

15 minutes later… 

"I don't see how you talked us into this," Helga sighed a long exaggerated sigh. 

They were all standing in front of the theatre that read '_Romeo and Juliet_'. 

"I don't see why we have to sit through this," Gerald rolled his eyes. "I mean, our class performed this a couple of months ago. We've _lived _through it." 

"Yes," Phoebe admitted, leading the way to the front row of seats. "But the beautiful plot never dies; and the violence underscores the real meaning of true love," Phoebe wiped a tear from her eye. Gerald and Arnold exchanged glances of raised eyebrows. 

"There aren't enough seats for us to sit in our usual row of four," Phoebe stated the obvious, taking a seat in the front seat. Gerald didn't hesitate, as he sat beside her. Arnold sighed, taking a seat behind Gerald. "We'll sit here." 

'_Ohh!_' Helga happily swooned to herself. '_I get to sit beside my beloved, in the showing of Romeo and Juliet! Nothing could be more perfect that this!' _she said, taking a seat behind Phoebe, and beside her beloved. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen," a middle-aged woman walked up on the stage with a microphone. She tapped it lightly and then began to speak. "We here at the Sunset Cruise Production Theatre, would like to welcome everyone here," her words echoed through the theatre. Everyone clapped in response. "Today we are lucky enough to be showing Romeo and Juliet, starring Jamie Stundell, and Stephanie Burch!" she backed off, and the lights dimmed into almost pitch black. Everyone clapped until the red curtains seperated. 

"This is going to be _so_ boring," Helga sarcastically whispered to Arnold. Arnold nodded with his eyes half open. 

Later on in the play… 

It was the scene where Romeo and Juliet were meeting each other for the first time. They were both dancing, when their eyes met from either end of the room. 

Arnold and Helga glanced at each other, and then they both turned away, blushing furiously. 

'_A-am I blushing_?' Arnold asked himself. '_Why am I blushing_? his mind demanded. He quickly peered at Helga. '_And is she blushing too?_' he asked himself, unsure of the answer. '_I…I can't be falling for…_' Arnold's eyes widened. '_Oh no_,' he shuddered_, 'I think I…like her, like her_!' he came to the conclusion_. 'But I can't like Helga! I mean, she's just so…mean! She devotes her life to ruining my life, and calls me foo_-' Arnold's thoughts were interrupted as he felt a warm hand on his hand. He looked down to his hand. It was Helga's hand. She was watching the play with eyes that even Arnold couldn't describe. They were dreamy and friendly…not distant and cold. 

He turned to Helga with an innocent look on his face. Helga looked at him like '_what are you looking at_?' and then remembered she was holding his hand. Helga cleared her throat nervously, and snatched her hand away from him. Her swooning Arnold-adoring side had gotten the best of her, and she mentally scolded herself for it. 

Arnold shook his head and then rested his head in his right hand. He soon found himself drifting off. 

Arnold later woke up, feeling something on him. '_Wha_?' he looked down to see what was on him. It was Helga. She had fallen asleep on him. Arnold smiled to himself. Helga wasn't that bad. Although she acted mean, he had seen peeks of the real her. This was another peek at the real her. She had a content dreamy expression on her face, and Arnold chuckled inwardly at it. 

Later… 

The play had ended, and Gerald and Phoebe were rising with the rest of the crowd to get out of the theatre. 

"Hey that wasn't too bad, was it, man?" Gerald turned to Arnold, as he slowly moved forward, Phoebe close behind. Arnold's head was leaning against Helga and Helga was still asleep on him. 

Gerald and Phoebe exchanged stunned wide-eyed glances. Gerald shook Arnold awake quickly. 

"Arnold, Arnold…" he called. "Hey, wake up man! The play's over!" 

Arnold heard Gerald calling, as he rubbed his eyes. "Huh? What?" he tried to get up but remembered Helga was on him. 

"Helga," he shook her shoulder gently. "Helga," 

Helga woke up. "Huh? Arnold?" she asked sleepily, looking up at him. 

Her eyes widened, as reality coldly slapped her on the face. She quickly got off Arnold. She looked up at Gerald and Phoebe who had shy smiles on their faces. 

"What are you looking at?" she snapped, standing up; their smiles faded. Arnold stood up in front of her, his back to her. "Show's over…there's nothing to see here…" she said quickly, pushing Arnold forward, towards the exit. 

Gerald and Phoebe exchanged glances of 'we better follow them' and then followed Arnold and Helga to the exit. 

Once they were out of the theatre. 

"Hey look!" Gerald grinned, pointing forward. Arnold, Helga and Phoebe followed his finger to see what he was pointing at. 

"The a_rcade_!" Arnold smiled, as he glanced at Gerald. They exchanged glances and raced towards the arcade. 

Helga shrugged. "I don't see what's so good about an arcade…what a crock! It's just a bunch of junk!" 

Phoebe nodded. "I agree, Helga. All games do is rot your mind with unrealistic challenges and goals," she stated scientifically. 

Helga raised her eyebrow. "Uh, right…" she said, looking at where they had run off. 

"Come on," Phoebe smiled, walking to the arcade. Helga nodded, and followed close behind. 

"I guess all we can do is watch them," Helga said, "because there's no way Helga G. Pataki's gonna play any stinkin' arcade game!" she announced stubbornly to no one in particular, walking into the arcade with Phoebe. 

Arnold was leaning casually against the arcade machine game that read 'Car Chase.' 

"Hey, look, they have _car chase_!" Gerald smiled. 

"Yeah, but why would you want to play it, when you lived it?" Arnold grinned; remembering when he was saving the neighbourhood and the car chase that Gerald lived through. He and Helga had to control the bottom controls of the car, as Gerald steered. 

Gerald hesitantly looked at the game. "I guess you're right…" he said, backing away but then quickly turned around. "But playing it never hurt anybody," he reconsidered, grabbing the controls. 

Arnold chuckled heartily. "I guess," he said simply, as Helga and Phoebe appeared out of the crowd, walking towards them. 

"Hey guys," Gerald said without looking back at them. 

"Baby at 12:00," Arnold warned, as a baby carriage crossed the screen. 

"I see it, I see it!" Gerald replied, swerving out of the way. "What else is new?" he asked with a chuckle. 

Arnold laughed. "Yeah, this game is the same every time, but it never gets boring!" Gerald just nodded and continued to play. 

"So, what's the meaning of this game?" Phoebe asked, watching the screen observantly. 

Gerald smiled at her quickly, before returning his attention back to the game. "The goal is to race your car to the finish, without getting hit by attackers, baby carriages, and stuff. There are many obstacles that purposely try to block you from winning," he said, "but I'm a pro at this game now," he finished proudly. 

Phoebe smiled. "I see…" 

**_Game Over _**the screen flashed. "I won again!" Gerald said with a smile, as him and Arnold did their famous thumb wiggle. 

"Here Phoebe, why don't you try?" Gerald asked her, and she smiled shyly. "Well I was never a huge fan of video games…and…" Gerald pushed her gently in front of the machine, and popped in a quarter. 

"Please? For me?" he asked sweetly. Phoebe smiled and gave in. "Well…alright…" she said. Gerald put his hands on top of her hands, and helped her steer. 

"Hey this isn't so bad!" Phoebe admitted. "It's actually…fun!" 

Gerald laughed. "Now you know what you've been missing out on!" they continued to play the game. 

Arnold and Helga watched them with a smile. 

"Hey Helga, have a spare quarter?" Arnold asked her. 

Helga raised half of her eyebrow. "Yeah, but why the heck would I give _you_ my quarter, out of all people?" she sneered. 

"Because I really want to play this game," Arnold gestured to an arcade machine game behind him that read _Super Makio – World 3_. 

Helga rolled her eyes. "I'm not convinced," she said flatly, looking away. 

"Please, Helga?" Arnold asked. Helga couldn't stand looking at his sad face. She turned away, and put her quarter in his hand in defeat. 

"Fine," she grumbled. Arnold took the quarter. 

"Thanks Helga!" he shot her a winning smile, and she melted as a dreamy expression formed on her face. She slapped it away, and thankfully Arnold never noticed. 

"I'm only doing this because I'm in a good mood," she lied, as she leaned against the machine casually. Arnold popped the quarter in. 

"_Press Start_," Makio said in his thick Italian voice. Arnold pushed start. 

Arnold visciously jabbed the control stick right and pushed 'A' as Mafia jumped on a dark brown '_Goopa_.' 

"So what's the _point_ of this crock?" Helga asked sarcastically. Arnold looked at her thoughtfully, before grabbing her by the wrist. 

"Why explain it, when you can see for yourself?" he asked no one in particular, shoving Helga in front of himself. 

"No way, bucko!" Helga crossed her arms stubbornly; "there's no way I'm playing an arcade game!" 

"Well you better soon – or your quarters going to go to waste!" Arnold warned from behind her, grabbing her hands. It looked like he was hugging her from behind, but he was guiding her hands in the game. 

"What –" Helga started to say, as Arnold guided her_. 'He's actually holding my hands_!' she swooned to herself_. 'Arnold, my love, I hope this game never stops_!' 

"Push A!" Arnold directed. Helga's hand made her way to the B button. "No, A!" Arnold repeated, grabbing her hand and pushing A. 

"Now cross the bridge," he ordered. Helga nodded and crossed the bridge. 

"Now what?" she asked impatiently. 

Arnold gasped. 

"What?" Helga asked, looking at him strangely and then to the game. "What?" she panicked. 

"I've never gotten this far…I…I don't know what to do!" Arnold admitted. 

Helga's eyes widened. 

"Push uh…B!" Arnold said quickly. "No…A!" he changed his mind. "Actually, use the control stick to – " 

Helga moved out of the way. "You do it, football-head!" she yelled, and he stepped forward nervously. "Okay…" he grabbed the control stick and pointed it right as Makio did a long jump in mid air. 

A large turtle-like monster stomped towards Makio. 

"Bowga!" Arnold gasped. "Uh…" his hands panicked, pushing all of the buttons at once. "I…I don't know what to do!" Arnold panicked, looking away, eyes closed tightly. He pushed all of the buttons at the same time and then turned back slowly. 

Makio did a victory pose as the words '**_You won – Game Over'_** flashed on the screen. Arnold grinned widely. 

"I won!" he yelled. Gerald and Phoebe smiled at him, as they finished _car chase._

"That's great man!" Gerald smiled. 

Helga glanced at Arnold. "Criminey- its _just_ a game!" she said sarcastically. 

"Thanks Helga…if it weren't for you, I would've never gotten that far!" he smiled, embracing her in a tight hug. 

Helga melted. '_Ohhh_' she swooned to herself, and unexpectedly wrapped her arms around Arnold. Arnold blinked, and looked up at her as she quickly took her arms off of him, and pushed him away. 

"Don't get so close, hair boy!" she snapped, and he surprisingly smirked, shaking his head. 

"Whatever you say, Helga," he said, walking away with a smile and his eyes half-open, with Gerald and Phoebe. Helga followed close behind. 

'_Oh Arnold, my flaxen haired angel! This is the best day of my life!'_ she smiled to herself, following them to the exit of the arcade. 

** 

Hey guys – it's me again! ^_^ *everyone groans and Satokasu Suki sweat drops* 

Okay, sorry this chapter kinda took long to put up…but I had written it, and then my stupid computer lost it all…so I had to re-write the whole chapter! ;_; Anyway, the point is, I successfully wrote it again, and now its up! ^_^ Yay! 

Anyway, I still have writers block – I have _absolutely_ no clue at ALL as to what should happen next…so suggestions are more than welcome, as usual! Until the next chapter is up, please still keep reviewing! Again, I want at least 10 more reviews until I put the next chapter up. 

Thanks for reading and reviewing to everyone who has stuck with me through this and I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it! Hey Arnold is a blast! ^_^ 

Keep readin', 

Reviewin', 

And enjoyin'! 

Satokasu Suki 

P.S. To all of you who have played _Super Mario – World 3_, or have heard of it, didja like my parody? ^_~ Lol, I know, pretty pathetic! 


	7. Chapter Seven

Note: Thanks for all of the fantastic, supportive reviews, as usual. I really appreciate it! Man I love you guys! *hugs everyone* Thanks a lot, guys! Oh, and before any of you ask how many chapters will be in this story…probably not too many more…and about them confessing…well they might confess or I might leave it up in the air for a **_sequal_**. Comments on **_sequals_** or confessing in **_this story_** are more than welcome in your reviews-too! And now, because I love all of you guys so much - Chapter Seven! Yay! ^_^ 

P.S. Sorry this took sooooooooo long to post...but...my computer was having severe problems *sweat drop* and we had to take it in. We're still not sure what we had, but hey, everything's great and running again so sorry, and here goes nothing... 

Disclaimer can be found on Chapter One, and Chapter Six. 

The Cruise: Chapter Seven

"Hey _football-head_, you're up!" Helga called from her catcher position. Helga, Gerald, Phoebe and Arnold were all playing baseball in the baseball arena, aboard the Sunset Cruise. Down the hall, there was a football arena, and a tennis court. 

Arnold grabbed a bat, and walked to first base. "This guy can't hit – move in, move in!" Helga called sarcastically to Gerald and Phoebe, and they moved in. 

Gerald was the pitcher, and wound up the ball in his right hand. "Here it comes, Arnold!" he warned as the ball went straight for Arnold's bat. 

Arnold swung, and- 

"_Strike one_!" Helga called dully, as she threw the ball carelessly back to Gerald. Gerald pitched again, this time more lightly to make it easier on Arnold. 

Arnold swung and- 

Hit the ball very hard, almost out of the arena, but it bounced off a back wall. 

Arnold dropped his bat and ran to first base. Phoebe grabbed the ball in her field position, and threw it to Gerald as Arnold ran past second base. 

"_Throw it, throw it_!" Helga yelled to Gerald, reaching for the ball as Arnold ran closer to home. Arnold slid into safety, as Helga caught the ball. 

"Arnold's safe!" Gerald called, as he walked to regain his new catcher position. Helga walked up to bat, and Arnold ran to his pitcher position, as Phoebe stayed in the field. 

"Give me your worst, Arnoldo," Helga teased. 

Arnold threw the ball, and she hit it hard, first try. Helga dropped her bat the minute she hit the ball, and ran to first base. 

Arnold looked up, and saw the ball…headed for him. Before he knew it, all he could see was black. 

"Hold it!" Gerald called, and Helga stopped dead in her tracks. 

"What?" she asked impatiently and then glanced at Arnold. 

"_Arnold_!" she panicked, running to his side. He was lying down, and he looked unconscious. Gerald and Phoebe joined Helga at Arnold's aid. 

"How are we gonna get him to…come around?" Gerald asked, shifting his eyes from Arnold to Helga, and then Phoebe. 

"One of is going to have to give him the mouth-to-mouth treatment," Phoebe spoke up, stating the obvious. 

"No way!" Helga sliced her arms in a 'not gonna happen' motion. 

"Well I don't want to…" Gerald frowned, looking up at Phoebe. 

Phoebe shook her head silently, looking at Helga. 

"Alright, alright, ya bunch of chuckle heads. I'll do it," she said rolling her eyes, "but don't ever say I didn't do you a favour," she said, with a long exaggerated sigh. 

She leaned towards Arnold and looked at him strangely for a while. As if she was fighting a war with herself, over giving him mouth-to-mouth or not. 

"Today would be good, Helga," Gerald said sarcastically, looking at his watch and then tapping it as if to see if it was still working. 

"Hey, don't rush me! I'll take as long as I want…unless _you_ want to do it!" Helga threatened, as Gerald rolled his eyes. 

Helga leaned closer to Arnold, and tried to calm her heart down. It was beating so fast she thought for sure that Gerald and Phoebe could hear it. '_Alright Helga, ol' girl…you can do this. You've kissed him before…you've even done mouth-to-mouth on him before, so its not like this is new to you…' _she tried to calm herself down. _'I just wish they weren't watching me so closely!'_

She took a deep breath before breathing into Arnold. The process repeated a couple of times, before she sat back, to watch Arnold recover. 

"I think he's coming around," Gerald stated the obvious as Arnold coughed a bit, and then stood up with the help of Helga's arm for support. 

"What happened?" he asked drowzily, touching his head gingerly where the ball had hit him. 

"Helga," Gerald frowned and looked up at her as she smiled guiltily, "hit you on the head with a baseball," he said. 

"Yes," Phoebe complied. "And I believe she has something to say," she added; nudging Helga and hinting at an apology. 

Helga rubbed her arm nervously. '_I gotta get out of this stupid habit_,' she told herself, ripping her hand away from her arm. 

"Arnold…I uh…" her hand found its way to her arm again, as she rubbed it nervously. 

"That one time that you hit me on the head with a baseball," she started again; her voice rising, "and you gave me amnesia, well I guess you could say this is like revenge-" Phoebe coughed on purpose, and nudged her hardly. 

"Ow!" Helga yelled in pain, and Phoebe's eyes narrowed as Helga nodded in a 'okay, okay, already!' way. "I'm sorry Arnold," she said flatly, not looking at him, saying the words with…was that guiltiness? Was she ashamed for hurting him? Arnold couldn't really tell. 

Arnold smiled warmly, taking his hand off of his head, as he touched Helga's arm gently. A tingling sensation washed through her, as he didn't move his hand. Her eyes widened, and she tried to build another wall inside of her, so she wouldn't cave in and get all mushy on him. 

"I forgive you, Helga," he said with a smile, patting her arm. She couldn't help but smile back; even if it was a guilty smile. 

"Aww," Gerald and Phoebe said in unison, smiling sweetly at them. Arnold blushed faintly with an embarrassed frown, and Helga snapped out of her lovesick trance. 

"Shut up or I'll pound your faces in!" she threatened, and she would've if Arnold hadn't held her back. 

"Have fun trying," Gerald said under his breath before clearing his throat, and standing up. He extended a hand for Arnold to get up. Arnold stood up beside him. 

"Let's go swimming, guys!" Gerald suddenly said with a smile, shifting his attention from Arnold to Phoebe and then to Helga. 

Phoebe stood up and then helped Helga up. 

"I guess…since there's nothing else to do," Helga said dully, with a forced yawn. 

Gerald and Arnold walked ahead. 

"You got it bad," Gerald said to Arnold, as he patted him on the back, sympathetically. 

"Huh?" Arnold asked obliviously, "what do you mean?" 

"You know what I mean," Gerald said with a wink. "You _like_ like Helga." 

"What?" Arnold spat. He had totally been caught off guard. "I do not!" he turned away, trying to hide the annoying blush that kept creeping up on him. 

Gerald shook his head. "Mm mm mm!" he said in disapproval. "I wouldn't of picked her, myself, but hey, we're all different," he added with a sly smile. 

Arnold rolled his eyes and then sighed. "I do _not_ have a crush on Helga G. Pataki!" he denied strongly, getting a little angry about the whole conversation. 

"Oh sure, Arnold, sure," Gerald nodded, pretending to believe him. Arnold shook his head at his sarcasm. 

"Whatever, Gerald." 

Meanwhile, Helga and Phoebe were talking, too… 

"I didn't know they had a pool here," Phoebe said, looking at Helga to see what her reaction would be. 

"What _don't_ they have?" Helga said sarcastically. "I mean," she said, holding out a fist to count. "They have grade-A suite rooms," she put up her index finger, "restaurants," she put up another finger, "arcades, movies, theatre productions, pools," she was getting tired of counting, so she stopped with her 6 things. "They have everything!" she threw her arms up dramatically. 

Phoebe smiled understandingly, with a nodd. "Yeah, I'd have to concur. And thanks again…on behalf of all of us…for inviting us to come with you on the wonderful cruise," she said with a shy smile. "We're having a great time!" 

Helga grinned. "No problem! I figured you do so much for me, it was my chance to do something for you! And Arnold and Gerald were just getting really annoying…" she said with a smirk, "so I had to invite those idiots." She paused as Phoebe chuckled warmly. "Just don't get all mushy on me," she warned, and Phoebe smiled. 

"Okay," she sang. 

Later, at the pool. 

"Nice bathing suit, _Arnoldo_!" Helga teased from in the water, as Arnold jumped off of the diving board. 

He surfaced. "Yeah, yeah," he said with a smile. He was wearing trunks that had the same pattern as his chequered shirt he wore underneath his sweater; and somehow still wore his little blue hat. Helga wore a one-piece pink bathing suit (surprise, surprise, eh?), and Phoebe wore a dark blue one-piece bathing suit, while Gerald sported black trunks. 

"Cannonball!" Gerald yelled, jumping into the private pool they had. It was a full-sized pool, just for them! 

"Ha!" Helga laughed, pointing at Arnold. "You call _that_ swimming?" she taunted, with a laugh, and then abruptly stopped as she felt some water shower over her. She looked up, after being drenched, to find a guilty looking Arnold. 

"_Arnold_," she hissed with narrow eyes, swimming towards him. Arnold laughed, as he swam away quickly. 

Helga splashed water at him, in revenge. Arnold splashed back, and soon a water fight began. 

Gerald and Phoebe watched from the sidelines. "And they're off. Arnold versus Helga, in the water fight! Helga is in the lead, but Arnold seems to be climbing to victory," Gerald said in a deep professional voice. Phoebe laughed. 

"Arnold splashes Helga back, and oh this is so exciting," Gerald boomed as Phoebe laughed again. "Take it away, Phoebe!" he said with a warm smile. 

"Thank you Gerald," she shot a quick smile at him, and went along with his little game. "This is an intriguing event, and I'm honoured to have front row seats!" she grinned, pretending to hold a microphone. "Arnold splashes Helga but then Helga results victoriously," she finished professionally. "Back to you, Gerald." 

They chorused in laughter, and by the time they were done, Arnold and Helga were laughing too, splashing carelessly at each other. 

Gerald's eyes closed halfway, and he smiled an amused smile, as he looked at the two nine year olds diverse. Phoebe shyly smirked at them. 

"They sure are cute," she admitted. 

"Yeah," Gerald said with a chuckle. "But denial sure is strong," he added, remembering his talk with Arnold. 

Phoebe nodded, before Gerald ruffled her wet hair, playfully. She giggled, and attacked his now-droopy-from-the-water-would-be-a-tall-stack hair. They laughed. 

Later, when Helga and Phoebe were changing… 

Phoebe was all dressed and waiting for Helga who was changing in a bathroom stall. 

"Helga," Phoebe called from outside of the stall. 

"Yeah?" Helga said from inside the stall. 

"Although it was surprising, and not very in character, you had a lot of fun with Arnold today," she pointed out. 

Helga dropped her brush and cleared her throat. "Uh…yeah…so? What's your point?" 

"You like him, don't you?" Phoebe asked with a smirk. 

Glass shattering, a cat meowing loudly, and dropping objects sounded from inside the stall. 

Phoebe looked at the stall sceptically. "Are you alright in there, Helga?" 

"Yeah…yeah…just fine," Helga said quickly, picking up her belongings. 

"So you like Arnold, don't you?" Phoebe repeated. 

Helga opened her mouth to talk, as she combed through her messy wet hair from inside the stall. 

"Or should I say, you like _icecream_?" 

Helga gasped. "_I-ice cream_?" she recovered. "I…I don't know what you're talking about," she lied. "And why would I have a crush on _football-head_ of all people?" she said uncomfortably with a frown, opening the stall and walking to the mirror with her belongings. 

"Ice cream…" Phoebe repeated again. "You're obsession…" she hinted, "I know you're obsessed with Arnold," she said knowingly, adjusting her glasses intelligently. 

"Y-you do?" Helga's eyes widened, but then she shook it off. "I…I mean, what are you talking about? Me? Obsessed with _Arnold_?" 

"Helga, just admit it. You can't deny it your whole life," Phoebe said firmly. Helga gave in. 

"Okay, okay, I love him…" she said as her head drooped, her voice sounding almost ashamed. "I mean, I'm so obsessed!" she threw her hands up in the air dramatically. 

"I have a shrine dedicated to him, a locket with his adorable little picture in it," her smile got wavy in admiration, "…and I tease him because I actually love him. Oh Phoebe," she said with a heavy sigh. "I don't know why I torture him. I mean, I love the living day lights outta him, and what do I do? Make fun of his head shape," she said bitterly. 

Phoebe placed a hand on Helga's shoulder as Helga put her hair back into its usual pig-tailed fashion. 

"I know what you're feeling, Helga," she said with a smile. "You're in love, but you don't want to confess yet because he might not feel the same way." 

"Well yeah…" Helga started, examining the tile floor. "But I _have_ confessed…" she said almost inaudibly. 

Phoebe blinked. "You have?" 

"Yeah…you know when Arnold was saving the neighbourhood?" Phoebe nodded and Helga continued. "Well…I had been helping him out along the way, as a mysterious man in a dark cloak…_deep voice_," she said with a nervous, forced laugh, as Phoebe nodded and urged Helga to continue. "A-anyway…Arnold's curiosity got the best of him, and he found me on the roof of the Future Tech Industries building. He demanded who I was, and I started sputtering stuff that he obviously didn't believe. And then…" she looked at the ground, "my coat fell off and he found out it was me." 

Phoebe gasped. "What happened next?" 

"Well…" Helga started sadly, "he demanded why I helped him along the way, and again, I shot all kinds of excuses at him, but he wanted to know the true reason." Phoebe blinked curiously, and Helga got hysterical. "So I told him I dedicated 14 volumes of poems to his presence, I told him I've loved him forever, I told him I've forever dreamed of the day that I could hold him and kiss him," by now Helga had a dreamy expression on, and she was yelling without a care. "And then," she calmed down, "I kissed him." 

Phoebe gasped loudly, and then covered her mouth with her hand. "So…you confessed, _and_ kissed him?" Helga nodded, "how did he respond?" 

Helga shook her head with a smirk. "Poor football-head…he was pretty confused, because me, of all people, the _school bully_, had just announced that they _loved_ him. He said something about lying down to think…and then of course, I jumped at him saying dreamily that I'd go lie down with him. He objected strongly, and then calmed down and shook me out of my daze, telling me we had to go save the neighbourhood." 

"Yes, go on, Helga…" Phoebe urged. 

"Well…after the whole thing," she said, gathering her hair products and her wet bathing suit, "he made up the excuse that it was just the 'heat of the moment'. And he was pretty much spoon-feeding me, so I agreed, saying that the stuff I said was just...the 'heat of the moment' as he put it. And then he asked if I still hated him..." There was a pause, and then she continued, "…and I snapped at him, as usual, and skipped down the street." 

Phoebe was now sitting down, and nodding vigorously. "So…everything went back to normal?" Helga nodded. 

"So that's great for you then!" she smiled. "That way he thinks that you don't like him, and everything's great!" Phoebe noticed the frown on Helga's face. "What's wrong, Helga?" she asked quietly. 

"I-it's just that…even if he doesn't feel the same way…it would be so much better to let him know how I feel, so then I wouldn't have to keep keeping it a big, stupid secret!" she said, in a stressed manner. 

"Well maybe one day you'll tell him again," Phoebe patted her on the back. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" 

Helga nodded slowly. "I guess. I mean, I already know he doesn't _like_ me, like me, but I would feel so much better confessing to him, spilling it all, and NOT taking it back." 

Phoebe smiled as Helga and herself left the bathroom to meet up with Gerald and Arnold. 

That's the end of Chapter Seven! Didja like it? Hate it? Personally I really enjoyed writing this chapter, its probably one of my favourites…I dunno why though. Lol, anyway, reviews and suggestions are more than welcome! Don't hesitate! Cya next time, in Chapter Eight! 

Keep readin', 

Reviewin', 

And enjoyin'! 

Satokasu Suki 


	8. Chapter Eight

*yawn* As usual, **disclaimer's** on Chapter 1 and 6. Okay? Okay. 

The Cruise: Chapter Eight

"You wanted to meet me here, Helga?" Arnold asked at the front of the ship. It was late into the evening, and Helga had called Arnold to meet her at the front of the ship. 

"Yeah," Helga nodded. She seemed uncomfortable, and Arnold noticed. 

"Is something wrong, Helga?" Arnold asked. 

Helga ignored his concern, and started talking. "Arnold, the reason I called you here…is…" she started uncomfortably, eyeing the ground. "All of that stuff I said on the FTI building was true. I do love you," she said softly, looking up from the ground to face him. 

"Y-you do?" Arnold asked obliviously. Helga nodded, and turned away. "I know you don't feel the same way, and –" Helga was cut off by Arnold who was…kissing her? 

Yes, he sure was kissing her. Helga flew higher than a bird, and a tingling sensation soared through her body, as she returned the kiss. They broke apart, and Helga opened her mouth to talk when Arnold signalled her to stop, by brushing a finger up to his lips. 

"After some time to think," he started, a faint blush creeping up on him. "And after this whole cruise adventure…I love you too," he said with a cute smile. Helga smiled back warmly, as they kissed again. 

"Arnold!?" Helga asked. 

"Yes, Helga?" Arnold asked sweetly. 

"Arnold!" Helga repeated. 

"**_Hey Arnold_!**" Helga called loudly in reality, hovering over his bed. 

"What?" Arnold sat up quickly. "It…it was all a dream?" 

"Uh _yeah_," Helga said dully, with a hint of sarcasm. "Now get outta bed!" she ordered, towering over him. "We're having breakfast in 10 minutes!" 

"10 minutes?" Arnold jumped, throwing the covers off of him. "Why didn't you wake me sooner?" 

Helga laughed evilly. "You just looked so into your dream," she taunted, "who were you dreaming of? _Liiiila_?" she teased sarcastically. 

Arnold shook his head and frowned. "No. Why would I be dreaming of Lila?" he got up and faced Helga. 

"Well you had a dreamy expression on your face," she pointed at him as she towered over him. 

Arnold faintly blushed. "Oh…" he turned away, as Helga cackled, turning away from Arnold and walking to her bed. 

"_Ha ha ha_!" she laughed, as she made her bed. 

"Besides," Arnold said. "I'm _over_ Lila." 

"Ha-" Helga stopped. "Y-you are?" she asked. 

"Yeah," Arnold said with his hands on his hips. 

"So who do you like now? Rhonda? Nadine? There's always a new _victim_ each month," she said sarcastically. 

"Actually, no one at the moment," Arnold said. '_Am I telling the truth? I still don't know how I feel about Helga…maybe I do like her, like her…_' he stopped to look at her as if looking at her was the answer to his dilemma. 

She felt her eyes on him, as she finished making her bed. "Why are you watching me?" she demanded angrily. 

He looked away, and walked to the bathroom to get changed. "No reason…" 

"Tell me!" she demanded, running to the bathroom and blocking the entrance so he couldn't get it unless he told her. 

"I'm just trying to figure something out," he said simply, pushing her out of the way and walking into the bathroom. She watched him close the door, sceptically. 

Later, at breakfast… 

"So what do you think of this new restaurant?" Gerald yelled over the people talking and laughing. 

"It's okay…I like the Coffee Garden better, though," Arnold yelled back. "It's too loud here!" he added in a yell. 

"What?" Gerald yelled. 

"I said it's too loud here!" Arnold yelled back. 

"What?" Gerald repeated. 

"It's TOO LOUD HERE!" Helga voiced for Arnold, as everything went silent. 

"Heh heh…" Helga looked at everyone watching her. "What are _you_ lookin' at?" she yelled at someone. 

"Do you want a piece of me?" he challenged her from across the restaurant. Everyone in the restaurant watched the boy and Helga. 

"I'm not afraid of you, bucko! Come over here so I can pound you!" she yelled. Arnold pulled her back, as she sat down. 

"Helga, do you know what you're getting yourself into?" he asked her gently. "That guy could cream you!" he whispered loudly. 

"I'd have to concur," Phoebe chimed in. "He _could_ hurt you severely, Helga." 

"Watch what you say, bucko!" she warned Arnold and ignored Phoebe, before glaring at the boy across the restaurant, and standing up. "I don't have time for you!" she yelled. "But this doesn't mean this is the end of this!" 

The boy just nodded with a frown, and Helga and the boy sat back down. This was everyone else's signal to continue talking loudly and laughing. Everything went back to normal. 

Later, in the football arena… 

"Okay guys, listen up – I'm quarterback!" Helga yelled. 

Gerald rolled his eyes. "What else is new?" he asked sarcastically. 

"Hey!" Helga marched up to Gerald. "Put a sock in it, hair boy," she sneered, before stomping back to her position. "Everyone in position!" she called. 

"_Hut, hut, hut_!" 

After a victorious football game, and a nice lunch at the Coffee Garden, Arnold, Helga, Gerald and Phoebe were unsure of what to do next. 

"We could always watch another play," Gerald suggested. 

"Listen, _Geraldo_, there's no way we're watching another crummy play! The last one was so bad, I feel asleep, remember?" she yelled. 

"Oh I rememeber," Gerald smirked slyly. "You fell asleep," he repeated, "…on Arnold." Gerald laughed, and Phoebe giggled, remembering the scene. 

"Is that an invitation for Old Betsy to personally meet that tall stack of hair?" Helga threatened, shoving her fist in Gerald's face. 

"Maybe it is!" Gerald countered angrily. "Do your worst!" 

"You asked for it!" Helga yelled, charging towards Gerald angrily. 

Arnold stepped between Helga and Gerald, and put his hand firmly on Helga's fist. 

"That's _enough_, guys!" he said loudly, and they stopped. 

"Fine," Gerald sneered, glaring at Helga. "But you haven't seen the best of me, yet!" Gerald yelled. 

"Fine! And yeah, I'll see the best of you…_NEVER_! You don't have a good part," Helga hissed, turning away from Arnold and Gerald with her arms crossed. 

Arnold and Phoebe exchanged worried glances. "I'll take Gerald, you take Phoebe," Arnold offered as Phoebe nodded. "Affirmative," she said, walking off to talk to Helga. 

Helga was making her way back to her room when she heard Phoebe call her. "Helga!" she called. Helga just kept walking. 

"Helga!" she was now walking beside her. "Didn't you hear me call you?" she asked. 

"No," she lied firmly, as she pushed the elevator button, and it opened. She and Phoebe walked in. 

"Helga, I want to talk to you about Gerald. He's really a great guy, once you get to know him!" Phoebe smiled. 

"Fine, whatever," Helga put her hands on her hips. "I'm never gonna get to know _Geraldo_, and I don't want to!" she yelled. 

"Helga," Phoebe said firmly. "You owe him an apology." 

Helga frowned. "He owes _me_ an apology," she said stubbornly. 

Phoebe sighed. '_I hope Arnold is having better luck with Gerald_,' she though as she turned back to an angry Helga. 

Meanwhile… 

"Gerald, you owe Helga an apology," Arnold said, while he sat on Gerald's bed. 

"For what? What did I do?" he asked innocently, pacing back and forth. 

"You were looking for trouble," Arnold said with a shake of his head. Gerald rolled his eyes, and Arnold sighed. 

"Gerald, you just don't know her like I do. She isn't really a bad person. She's actually good inside, but she's too afraid to show it," Arnold realized what he was saying, and all of it was true. "And I think that's why I'm starting to _like her_ like her…" he said quietly to himself. 

"She's nice? Right, of course," Gerald reasoned, "and its raining fuzzy slippers," he added sarcastically. Arnold stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. 

"I mean it, Gerald. She really is a good person, once you get to know her." 

"And how would you know, Arnold?" he asked, as Arnold sat back down. 

"Because I've seen little peeks at the real her, before. Like when we had to do that Biosquare project. Sure, she was mean and bossy, and had an awful attitude towards everything," Arnold began. 

"Oh yeah…she seems really nice," Gerald said sarcastically. 

Arnold sighed. "Let me finish," he said before starting up again. "Anyway, at the end of the project she actually smiled at me, and I smiled back, and it was then that I found out that she wasn't all that bad." 

Gerald rolled his eyes, but Arnold ignored it and continued. "And then that other time when we were making the city-day parade float, and she got her dad to donate money for our materials," Arnold said, "and then I hugged her, and," Arnold stopped and blushed at the remembrance. 

"Maybe that isn't the best example," he cleared his throat nervously as the blush faded. "There was always that time in the Romeo and Juliet play, when she was Juliet, and I was Romeo, and when she kissed me…" Arnold trailed off, blushing again from the remembrance, and picking a loose piece of fabric off of Gerald's pillow nervously. 

Gerald noticed and smiled, as Arnold shook the blush off. "What I'm trying to say is…despite my attempts at proving she is nice, she actually is a nice person," he smiled warmly, and Gerald gave in. 

"Okay, okay," he smiled back and they did their thumb wiggle. "But I still say you got it bad," he said slyly as Arnold's eyes went half-closed. 

"Whatever, Gerald," he said with a frown, but then it turned to a smile and they both laughed, going to see Helga and Phoebe. 

Phoebe had finally got to make Helga realize Gerald wasn't that bad, and when they met up an awkward silence passed. 

"Sorry…Gerald," Helga said, regretting it, but knowing it was the right thing to do. 

"I'm sorry too, Helga," he held out his hand and Helga shook it. Arnold stood beside Helga and smiled at her, as Phoebe and Gerald hugged. 

"That was very nice of you," Arnold observed and Helga blinked. 

"It was?" she asked obliviously before clearing her throat. "I-I mean, yeah, it was," she said with a smirk. 

Arnold smiled shyly at her. "I'm proud of you," he said. '_Whoa…what am I saying? I'm proud of Helga? Gerald's right…I do have it bad!_' he thought to himself before shaking his head. 

Helga's eyes widened. Arnold had said some compliments to her in the past, but nothing like that before! 

'_Ooh Arnold!_' she swooned to herself. '_Is today the day that you see me with loves eyes, as I see you? Ooh how I hope you feel the same way.'_

Helga wore a dreamy expression, as her smile got all wavy and Arnold chuckled at it. 

"Are you okay Helga?" he asked with a smile. 

"Uh…ye-yeah," she shook off her swoon. "Since when do you care?" she snapped. 

Arnold stopped. "Well…I was just wondering. You looked like you were daydreaming or something. Which you've been doing a lot on this cruise," he pointed out, "and you're always telling _me_ to get _my_ head out of the clouds?" he nudged her, and then chuckled. 

Helga melted at the contact he was providing, but then snapped herself out of it. "Whatever, football-head," she mumbled. 

** 

Well…I'm outta things to say, to be honest. *everyone cheers* Uh yeah… *sweat drop***** alrighty then…. 

All I can say is keep readin', reviewin', and enjoyin' and the next chapter will be up soon! 

Satokasu Suki   



	9. Chapter Nine

Short Chapter Summary: What happens when the Sunset Cruise ship goes haywire? Will everyone live? *Don't worry – it's not a drama. I'm not really into drama's.*

Disclaimer: You know the deal – go look on Chapter one, okay? Oh, and I don't own "_Titanic_" or associated characters, if it concerns anyone… o_0

The Cruise: Chapter Nine

Helga, Arnold, Gerald and Phoebe were all walking down the hall to their rooms, when all of the lights turned off.

"W…what's going on?" Phoebe asked nervously, tugging on Gerald's shirt.

"I don't know," Gerald answered, looking around the ship, and then putting an arm reassuringly around Phoebe.

"_Criminey_! Just our luck," Helga spat angrily. "What in the heck could be going wrong?" she yelled.

The P.A. system came on. "To anyone this message may regard, any boarders on the ship," a male's voice rang through the ship, "we have just come in close contact with an iceberg, and –" the P.A. system went fuzzy, and the ship rocked violently back and forth. Everyone fell over as a result.

Helga's eyes widened. "We're all gonna die!" she wailed.

Arnold looked determined. "Not if I can help it," he said bravely, struggling to stand up, but he stood up eventually.

"Come on guys," he said, looking down at Helga, Gerald and Phoebe who were helplessly lying on the ground. "I have a plan!"

Meanwhile, at the front of the ship…

"What do we do, Captain? It's like we're living on the _Titanic_!" one of the crewmembers wailed in an uptight manner.

The captain frowned. "We are _not_ going to go down like the Titanic," he said quickly before the boat rocked violently again. The crewmember sobbed.

"We're all gonna die!" he panicked.

"No we're not," the Captain said, taking a sharp turn, and hitting the steering wheel as a result. The crewmember panicked. The Captain seemed to be out cold.

"Oh my gosh…oh my gosh!" the crewmember frantically ran around. "HELP!" he yelled.

Meanwhile…

"Did you just hear that?" Arnold asked no one in particular, as he ran down the hall with Gerald, Phoebe and Helga. They all nodded.

"It sounds like it came from the front of the ship," Arnold announced, running forward blindly in the dark.

After finally reaching the front of the ship, Arnold opened the door leading to the helm; where the crewmember and the Captain were. 

"Is everything alright?" Arnold asked the crewmember.

The crewmember got wide-eyed. "If about to be dead, crashing into an iceberg, and living through the lives of the people on the Titanic is alright," the crewmember started hysterically, "then we're all fine. Yep – just peachy."

Helga rolled her eyes. "We don't have time for sarcasm, bucko!" she yelled impatiently, and the crewmember shrunk back.

"**_EVERYTHING'S NOT ALRIGHT_**!" he yelled in a panic.

"Ya think?" Helga said under her breath sarcastically.

"Okay," Arnold started calmly, "all we can do is be calm about this whole situation, and help the Captain-" Arnold stopped when he noticed the Captain's position as out cold.

"Uh guys," Arnold started, not taking his eyes off of the Captain, "the Captain's out cold," he stated the obvious.

Helga got wide-eyed. "What?" she rushed over to see the Captain, and Gerald and Phoebe followed.

"Gerald," Arnold said, shifting his attention to Gerald. "You take the lookout and navigator position, since you're tall." Gerald nodded.

"Phoebe," he said, turning to Phoebe. "You take the wheel!" Phoebe nodded and moved to the wheel, pushing the Captain gently out of the way.

"Helga," Arnold turned to Helga. "You'll be in charge of the accelerator," Helga nodded. "Okay, football-head."

"You," Arnold pointed to the crewmember. "Go get help, okay? Someone who's a professional." The crewmember nodded, and ran off quickly.

"And, I'll be in charge of the breaks," Arnold said running to the brakes, beside Helga and the accelerator.

"Turn Right," Gerald directed. Phoebe swung the wheel to the right, and kept twisting. "Okay – accelerate!" he commanded.

Helga pushed down hard on the acceleration pad. "Arnold," she said slowly. 

Arnold looked up at Helga. "Yes, Helga?" he asked obliviously.

"Brakes!" Gerald yelled, and Arnold pushed down hard on the brakes.

"Just incase we…don't make it…" she said slowly. "You should know something."

Arnold blinked. "Okay…" he said slowly.

"Accelerate!" Gerald called.

Helga pushed hard on the acceleration pad. "All these years that I've taunted you, humiliated you, teased you," she started, "and everything I said on that Future Tech Building that night…well, I guess you should know that-"

"Brake, brake!" Gerald called urgently, and Arnold blinked back to reality, turning away from Helga and pushing hard on the break.

"Accelerate," Gerald yelled, "and turn left!"

"You were saying, Helga?" Arnold asked.

"Well…" Helga started, "everything I said was tr-" 

"Turn right!" Gerald interrupted. "Accelerate harder!" he yelled at Helga.

Helga growled. "Listen, _Geraldo,"_ she yelled from the ground; "I'm accelerating as hard as I can!" she hissed, "_STOP INTERRUPTING_! I'm trying to confess, here!"

Gerald raised an eyebrow. "Confess? Confess…what?"

Helga blinked, and got wide-eyed. "Confess that…that I…uh…" Helga rubbed her arm nervously, as she pushed the other arm down on the acceleration pad.

"Uh…Helga," Phoebe interrupted quietly. 

"I just wanted to confess that I…" Helga searched for an excuse.

"Helga," Phoebe repeated.

"What I meant by "_confess"_…was…" Helga started again.

"Helga!" Phoebe repeated urgently.

"_What_!?" Helga snapped, "what could you possibly want, _NOW_?" 

"Well," Phoebe said quickly, "I think we're about to hit an iceberg so you might want to lay off the acceleration pad," she pointed out urgently. 

Helga gasped, and let go of the acceleration pad quickly.

"Oh C_riminey_-" Gerald started. "_Brakes, brakes_!" he yelled; going back to his lookout position.

Arnold pushed hard on the brake pad, and glanced at Helga. "Helga, tell me what you were going to say…what you were going to _confess_," he said softly.

"Well…I was…just…" Helga started nervously, not making eye contact, as the boat rocked violently. Helga and Arnold's faces became inches apart, thanks to the rock. Arnold blushed slightly, and Helga just blinked nervously.

She turned away quickly. "Criminey! What's going on up there? You're supposed to be steering, not having a party for crying out loud!" she yelled angrily, referring to the violent rocking.

"We're doing the best we can," Gerald said quickly. 

"Turn right!" he yelled to Phoebe, and she twisted the wheel as far right as she could. The boat rocked violently again, almost being tipped over, but it just made it.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief, except Helga. She stood up with a frown.

"Okay, I'll go get the balloons," she said with heavy sarcasm, referring to her last comment about having a party. She started to move towards the door.

"No, Helga," Arnold said, pulling on her dress lightly. "We need you down here. We need you to survive."

Helga looked down at Arnold. His eyes shone with honesty, love, kindness and bravery, and Helga gave in at the sight of Arnold. It was like he was saying _he_ needed _her_ to _survive_. Technically, in the spot they were in, he did, but Helga thought of his words as romantic.

She looked sceptically at him, as if to figure out what he meant.

"_I_ need you," he said almost inaudibly, but Helga heard it. She would've died just to hear him say that. 

'_Arnold, my beloved. Do you love me back? Oh, how I pray that is the way things are. I need you, and you need me. Ooh! I'll always love you, no matter what you may feel for me_,' she swooned to herself.

Helga nodded. "Okay," she said determinedly, moving back to her acceleration position, as Arnold smiled at her warmly.

"Thanks Helga. What made you come back?" he said with a cute smile.

"I…uh…felt guilty that without acceleration the boat might have gone down…and…I could've died because _I _wasn't there to save _myself_," she said quickly.

__

'Wow! I should get an award for all of these on-the-spot lies. I can smell an Emmy…' she thought to herself with a smile.

Arnold smiled; knowing the real reason was him. "Oh, okay," he said with a grin. "Thanks for coming back."

'_Whoa…I do care about Helga. A lot. I didn't know I cared this much…' _he thought to himself. '_Oh well. Love is actually pretty fun. Entertaining, sometimes confusing- but fun,'_ he told himself with a smile.

"_Accelerate_!" Gerald called urgently. Apparently he had been calling it for a while but Helga hadn't heard.

"Oh…right," Helga said quickly. She had gotten so caught up in Arnold that she forgot her job she was maintaining. She pushed on the acceleration pad.

Suddenly a crewmember came racing in with the other crewmember that had been with the Captain before.

"Hello kids. Everyone stay calm," the crewmember said in a deep rich voice. "My name is Larry, and I'll be helping you."

Arnold blinked, and moved from his brake position. "Why didn't you come sooner?"

"I was on my lunch break," Larry said sternly, "and lunch is a very important meal of the day," he insisted, taking a bite of a donught he had taken at lunch.

They all cocked an eyebrow at him, and he sheepishly threw the remains of the chocolate donught over his shoulder.

Larry cleared his throat. "Anyway kids, please get out of the way." Arnold, Helga, Phoebe and Gerald all stood back and watched.

Larry chuckled. "Are you kids trained for directing where Cruise ships go?" he asked them with a smile.

"Uh, no…" Gerald spoke up.

Larry's smile widened. "Well you should be, because…" he paused as they waited, "you got us to safe land!"

Gerald, Phoebe, Arnold and Helga all exchanged happy and excited glances. "Really?" Arnold asked.

"Really!" Larry exclaimed. "My work here is done," he said simply, walking back to the lunchroom. "I hope they still have jelly filled left!" he started running.

Everyone cocked an eyebrow at him, but then the crewmember caught their attention. "Guys, look," he said excitedly, "the Captain's coming around…"

The Captain coughed a couple of times, as the kids walked up to him slowly.

"Hey Captain!" the crewmember smiled. "These kids helped us get to safe land, after you were out-cold and we were stuck in iceberg territory!"

The Captain placed a hand gingerly on his head, before looking around and spotting Phoebe, Helga, Arnold and Gerald. "Thanks a lot kids…is there anything I can do for you? I mean, you saved everyone's lives."

Helga opened her mouth to suggest something, when Arnold gently nudged her. He smiled. "No sir, just knowing everyone's safe is thanks enough."

Helga rolled her eyes but then when no one was noticing, smiled lovingly at Arnold. _'Oh Arnold. So brave, so kind, so loving. Ohh, my beloved – we're all fine! I'm fine, you're fine…we all survived!' _she swooned happily to herself.

The Captain smiled warmly. "Well thank you. As much as I respect your request, I will be putting your names up on golden plaques that we will all proudly remember your brave efforts, by."

Later

Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe and Helga all stood proudly in front of their plaques.

"Well," Helga started with a smirk and her hands on her hips, "I guess we have to thank you, Arnold."

Arnold looked at her. "Thanks? For what?"

"Well, thanks for everything. For saving the ship, for getting these plaques, and for…well…" Helga started, "a great time," she finished with a confident smile.

Arnold smiled back warmly. "No problem, Helga."

'_Wow, she's actually thanking me!' _Arnold thought to himself with a smile. _'Well there ya go!'_

Helga smiled back sincerely. 

"So what were you going to confess back there?" Arnold asked her suddenly.

"Me? Confess?" Helga asked nervously, tugging on her collar for air. "I…I was delirious! What would I want to say to a football-head, like you?"

Arnold smiled knowingly at her behaviour. "Whatever you say, Helga." They walked down the hall together, headed for their room.

Gerald and Phoebe smiled sweetly at each other before looking up at the plaques.

"You did great back there, Phoebe," Gerald spoke up.

"Thanks, Gerald. I couldn't have done it without you, though," she said sweetly before giving him a quick peck on the cheek, and walking down the hall. Gerald raised his hand to where Phoebe had kissed him, and smiled warmly. He ran after her.

**

Mwa-ha! End of Chapter Nine! This really wasn't a cliff-hanger…was it? Eh…oh well, who cares. I am in a KILLER mood! ^_^ It's my birthday in 4 days (Sep. 2), and I'm gonna get Super Mario Sunshine for the Nintendo Game Cube! YAHOO!! I wuv my life! ^_^ Anyway…reviews are more than welcome. Cya in the next chapter…until then…you know what to do…

Keep readin',

Reviewin',

And enjoyin'!

Satokasu Suki

__ **__** **** **** **** __ __ __


	10. Chapter Ten : Fin

Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold or associate characters, coppice? 

Note: Wow, the big 1, 0! Chapter **Ten**…_wow_. It seems like just yesterday when I was writing about Helga winning the tickets, and being called down to the stage to accept her tickets…and Gerald and Arnold weaselling the tickets out of her… *sigh*** **This is what memories are made of! *wipes away a tear cheesily*

The Cruise: Chapter Ten

After a big buffet breakfast, at, you guessed it, _The Coffee Garden_ the next morning, it was time for our four favourite little Americans to start packing.

"Wow. This Cruise has just whizzed by," Arnold commented, throwing some shirts and bathing facilities into his suitcase.

"Yeah," Helga nodded.

"Hey, Helga?" Arnold asked, looking at Helga. Helga looked up from packing.

"Yeah, Arnold?" she asked softly, looking into his eyes.

"Thanks again for inviting us all to go on the Cruise with you. It meant a lot to us," he smiled sincerely. 

Helga smiled back quickly. "You're welcome."

"During this whole Cruise adventure," Arnold started, "well, I got to know you…much better."

Helga nervously shoved some clothes into her suitcase. 

'_Arnold has got to know me better? Criminey…things between us are probably even worse then before, now…_' Helga thought sadly.

"I like it when you're not such a mean bully Helga," Arnold said truthfully, "and I don't think you should worry about your reputation all the time."

Helga gave him a sincere smile. "You _like_ me?" she asked hopefully. "When I'm not mean?" she added quickly.

Arnold smiled, and looked her straight in the eyes to show he wasn't lying. "Yeah," he nodded slowly, realizing he really did. "Anyway," he turned back to packing, when he noticed something was missing.

"Uh, Helga? Have you seen my _shampoo_?" he asked, scanning his bed and suitcase for it. Helga gulped, guiltily. She had stolen his shampoo to smell it, and had been using it for a good part of the Cruise.

"Uh…" she started nervously, pretending to look for it. "Oh, here it is," she said falsely, picking it up from her suitcase.

"How did _that _get there?" she asked innocently, handing the shampoo to Arnold. "A heh heh…" Arnold shot her a confused glance, before smiling.

"Thanks," he said, taking the bottle and packing it up with the rest of his things.

'_That was too close_,' she told herself, wiping some sweat off of her brow.

Later on…

Arnold, Helga, Phoebe and Gerald had their suitcases, and were boarding off of the Cruise.

"That was some trip! Mmm, mmm, mm!" Gerald said happily, lugging his suitcase behind him.

"Yes," Phoebe nodded. "I really enjoyed it," she smiled.

"Me too," Arnold smiled. 

Helga smiled. '_The Cruise was a blast_,' she said to herself with a content successful smile. '_What I do for you, Arnold_,' she said to herself, remembering she got on the Cruise thanks to her poems she wrote, dedicated to her football-headed angel. She shook her head at herself. _'What I do for you…_' she repeated with a small smile.

The next day, at school.

"How was your trip, Helga?" Harold asked, on the playground.

"Since when do you care?" Helga asked with a cocked eyebrow. 

"Well I figured the next time you win tickets to go on a Cruise, if I'm nice to you now, you'll invite me!" he beamed.

Helga rolled her eyes. "Fat chance!"

Later, in class…

"Today class, lets welcome back our special classmates who boarded the special cruise ship, if you remember," Mr. Simmons smiled cheerfully, "Helga, Phoebe, Arnold and Gerald."

The class cheered, along with Mr. Simmons.

"Welcome back, guys!" he said happily, in his usual good nature. "Today, we want you to share your wonderful special adventure with us, by participating in a special question and answer session," Mr. Simmons informed with a smile.

Helga groaned, long and exaggerated as she stood up with Arnold, Gerald and Phoebe. They made their way to the front of the class.

"Okay kids, ask away!" Mr. Simmons beamed, as everyone in the class' hands shot up.

"Where did you sleep?" Stinky asked in his thick country accent.

"On beds," Helga replied flatly.

"Did you see any _bugs_?" Nadine asked from the back of the class

"I think this is ridiculous, Mr. Simmons. We're acting like they're celebrities or something!" Rhonda observed snobbishly. "So…did you see anyone famous, there?" she asked excitedly.

"What activities did the Cruise provide?" Eugene asked.

"Where did you eat?" Harold asked in his usual loud, obnoxious tone.

Later…

Everyone was gathered around Gerald. It was recess, and everyone was giving him open ears. He was telling another one of his Urban Legends, this time about the last Cruise crisis.

"_I heard a rattle, as we ran to the helm. The boat rocked violently, promising regrets of tomorrow_," Gerald started dramatically, as Sid played the drums occasionally, for effect. "_We_ _reached the helm, and the Captain was out cold. All we could do was take the wheel, and counsellor our way out of the disaster," _Gerald paused. "_There was a faint bang, as the boat nearly tipped over. It was then that I realized, the life I'm living, really matters_."

Helga watched from the sidelines, rolling her eyes. "I can't believe they believe that. What a crock!" she said with her arms crossed across her chest.

Arnold chuckled. "Why not? I mean, that is exactly what we lived through," he smiled.

"Yes. I think it is a wonderful outlook on our close-to-death experience," Phoebe smiled.

"_Right_," Helga cocked half of her eyebrow. "Sure Pheebs," she patted Phoebe on the back.

"Hey, Phoebe?" Arnold asked politely. Phoebe turned to Arnold.

"Yes?"

"Could I speak with Helga, alone for a minute?" Arnold asked shyly.

Phoebe smiled, and winked at Helga. "Sure," she said warmly.

Helga blinked, as she watched Phoebe leave. "What's on your mind today, Arnoldo?" she asked calmly, going to the picnic table to sit down. She sat on the table part, as opposed to the seat provided.

"Well," Arnold said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I guess I should just tell you this, straight out," he said with a sigh. He took a seat on the picnic table seat.

Helga's heart raced. '_Could this be it? Is Arnold actually confessing his…love to me?'_ she asked herself, as she began to swoon.

"Helga," Arnold started, placing a hand on her arm. She grew warm as a tingling sensation washed through her.

"Yes Arnold?" she looked at him straight in the eyes.

"Ever since that night on top of the Future Tech Industries Building, you've given me a chance to think about what you said. And even though it might have been the 'heat of the moment' I think that I…well Helga, I've fa-" Arnold and Helga's faces were inches away, when Arnold got interrupted.

"_Ooh_!" Harold called teasingly at Arnold and Helga. "_Arnold and Helga sitting in a tree, K-I-_…uh…what was the rest of it?" he paused to think. "Oh well," he shook it off. "_Kissing_!" he taunted immaturely. 

Arnold and Helga both blushed furiously, and turned away from each other. Arnold quickly took his hand off of Helga's arm.

"You two must _looovee_ each other!" Harold teased loudly. "You're both _blushing_!" he taunted, as Arnold and Helga blushed harder. Bow now there was a small crowd of kids, watching Arnold and Helga.

"Arnold…and _Helga_?" Rhonda asked, standing beside Harold with her hands on her hips. "That would _so_ not work. I mean…the helpful, smart, good guy…with the mean, overpowering school bully?" Rhonda raised an eyebrow at the combination. 

Helga scowled. "Shut up, _princess_," she hissed angrily.

"And you…" she walked towards Harold so she was inches away. "Put a sock in it!" she screamed, slapping his face, hard, and then walking back to the picnic table where Arnold was.

"You guys must be crazy. I do _not_ love Helga," Arnold frowned.

"Yeah…and me? Falling for football-head? Not in a million years!" Helga yelled.

"Then why were you _blushing_?" Harold asked, pointing at Arnold and Helga.

"We weren't blushing," Arnold and Helga objected strongly in unison.

Harold laughed, as Arnold and Helga exchanged glances.

Later that day…

The school bell ran loudly, signalling it was time to go home.

Everyone poured down the front steps of P.S. 118.

'_Great. Now to go home to Big Bob and Miriam_,' Helga thought miserably, sinking down the stairs and trudging across the street.

"Hey Helga," Arnold approached her. "You going home?" he asked.

She nodded, and Arnold smiled softly, and then grew a little nervous.

"You okay, Arnold?" Helga noticed Arnold's nervousness.

"Well…what I'm about to tell you is…well…about the whole Cruise adventure, a-and then when I was going to tell you something today, and Harold interrupted by saying…" Arnold trailed off, blushing faintly.

"What are you trying to say, Arnold?" Helga asked curiously.

"Well since I've gotten to know you better during the Cruise adventure…" Arnold started, looking her in the eyes as he stopped walking.

"Helga, I- well…I don't know how to put this…" Arnold started uncomfortably. "I…I," he took a deep breath and then exhaled. "_I love you, _Helga Pataki," he smiled weakly.

'_There I said it. It wasn't…that…bad. I wonder how she'll react?" _a million thoughts raced through Arnold's head.

Helga's eyes widened and she nearly fell over. "_You?_ You _love_ me?" she sputtered out. Her heart stopped beating.

'_He loves me! He loves me! He loves me! He loves me!'_ Helga's mind swooned excitedly. '_My dream has come true! He loves me! He loves me!_'

Arnold nodded. "At first I wasn't sure of my feelings," he looked away, eyeing the cemented ground, "and then it grew into a crush. I was still debating over my feelings, when sooner or later, I –" Arnold was cut off by Helga.

Helga was kissing Arnold. On the lips. Fully. Arnold blinked obliviously, before kissing back. 

__

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Harold laughed, pointing at Arnold and Helga. "_Kissy, kissy_!" he teased. 

__

'Stupid Harold. Ruining everything as usual…' Helga thought to herself angrily.

Helga and Arnold broke the kiss and Helga rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, pink boy," she said flatly, pushing him so he fell over. Arnold smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"So I guess all of that stuff you said on top of the FTI building was true?" Arnold asked with a knowing smile.

Helga smiled weakly. "Yep."

"Want me to walk you home?" he asked politely. She smiled.

"I'd love that, football-head," she said as she and Arnold held hands and walked down the street. 

The camera panned slowly away from the cute couple, and up towards the sky, where the sun shone beautifully bright, and a cloud that was shaped liked Arnold's head floated by. Helga's confessing music lightly played in the background (the music they play whenever she's swooning). 

(Screen turns black as credits begin to roll).

Note: _Wow_! I even surprised myself with that ending! *wipes tear away cheesily* I had a lot of fun with this. ^_^ Thanks to everyone who stuck with me in reading and reviewing! You were a great audience! *Bows* 

Written by: Satokasu Suki

Produced by: Satokasu Suki

Distributed by: Satokasu Suki

Hey Arnold and associated characters do not belong to Satokasu Suki (me) although she used them in her story. They belong copyrighted, to Nickelodeon, Craig Bartlett, etc. 

I'd just like to say a big huge thank you to _everyone_ -each and everybody- that **read** this story, and **reviewed**. Thank you so much. You cant' even imagine how helpful that was, and they were GREATLY appreciated. Thank you all very much! Luv ya!

~ Satokasu Suki 


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